


To See the Light

by stand_by_me



Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Aerith is the crown princess because she rules, Alternate Universe - Magic, Cloud's hair doesn't glow...but his eyes do, Multi, Tangled AU, because mako happens, gosh...I wonder what this fic is an AU of, the royal guards just can't get Zack's scar right
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-15
Updated: 2016-09-19
Packaged: 2018-06-02 11:31:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 40,974
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6564469
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stand_by_me/pseuds/stand_by_me
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>"Mako, gleam and glow / Let your power shine / Make the clock reverse / Bring back what once was mine, what once was mine."</i>
</p><p>Cloud has spent his whole life in a tower in the Nibel mountains, watching the world through his window and waiting for his mother to decide the world is safe enough for him.  Every year on his birthday, he sees floating lights go up in the sky, and he desires nothing more than to go see them in person.  Just before his twenty-first birthday, he finally tells his mother about his dream--and she admits that he will never be free to go.  Well, Jenova isn't always around, and when an outsider breaks into the tower looking for refuge, Cloud decides to embrace his dreams.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

Guardia’s history traced back to an old legend, one that began at the dawn of time.

The planet was much more than just a rock floating through the universe.  It had a magical force that created all life—plants, animals, people.  Everything came from the Lifestream, and everything eventually returned to it as well.  In the earliest days of humanity, the planet was more volatile, and its surface was still changing rapidly.  There was a cave in the ancient mountains of Nibel where the Lifestream met the air for a moment and crytallized.

The four crystals were a concentration of the planet’s life force, and as such, carried magical power beyond human comprehension.  At the dawn of the first age, a young man named Mako took it upon himself to protect the crystals from those who would use them to do wrong.  His descendants called the crystals _mako_ in his honor, and carried on the task of guarding them, for the planet that had given birth to all life deserved to be protected in turn.

A kingdom was built on those values as the centuries passed.  Guardia developed into a land of peace and prosperity—a home for the strong and a haven for the weak.  The kingdom’s best warriors wore the insignia of the hallowed crystals on their armor and defended the honor of the land and its people.

The descendants of Mako not once set out to invade another land, but their kingdom became so well-respected that many of the surrounding realms expressed interest in becoming a part of it.  There was a conference, and every influential nation from the first age was present.  After many months of civil debate, it was decided that they would become four nations, one to protect each crystal.

The kingdom of Midgar formed across the desert to the east, and would take the first of the four mako crystals.  The kingdom of Wutai was created from the nations across the western ocean, and would be charged with protecting the second crystal.  The kingdom of the Cetra, formed of the nations to the north, would protect the third crystal and study its properties.  And Guardia itself absorbed the kingdoms surrounding the Nibel mountains, pledging to protect the fourth crystal and the other nations.

The second age began, and the world entered a golden era of culture and prosperity.  Poverty nearly disappeared, taking illness and crime along with it.  Humanity’s knowledge of the world and what may lay beyond it increased dramatically, and one would have been hard-pressed to find a person in those days who was not excited about the world’s future.

That excitement ended when the calamity fell from the skies.

It was a meteorite that landed in the agricultural heart of Wutai, effectively wiping out the southern part of the nation.  As Wutai’s warriors rushed south to help relocate any survivors, their mako crystal was left unprotected and their citizens starving.  The capital city was raided and burned in a catastrophe that was only recorded in the songs of bards.  As the few survivors would have it, a woman, a witch with inhuman powers, stormed in and took the mako crystal, killing most of the people in the process.  The remaining Wutaians were not strong enough to keep the kingdom going, and without a crystal to protect, it eventually became a collection of smaller towns.

Another century passed, the golden era plowing on despite the disasters that had befallen it.  In an alarming turn of events, the kingdom of the Cetra began to fade away, although not in the explosive and sudden way of Wutai.  No, it was much slower and crueler.  A fatal and mysterious epidemic took every human being with Cetra heritage in less than a generation.  The entire royal palace was dead in a day, and by the time Guardia’s forces arrived to help, most of the capital as well the mako crystal were gone.  Midgar’s famed historians recorded the sickness with as much detail as they could, and there seemed to be one common factor—every victim saw the unsettling image of a witch just before they passed on, and their last words usually identified her as “Jenova.”

Guardia’s oldest dynasty, the descendants of Mako, had endured until then.  But the current queen had hailed from the Cetra and succumbed to the disease, and the king died of grief before producing another heir.  There was no coup, no anarchist revolution—Guardia was far too civilized for that—but it took several years before a Nibel line pure enough to last could be convinced to take the throne.

The Strife family began its reign with the somber knowledge that the world was in decline, and the people’s way of life in danger.  They created an elite Crystal Guard to ensure the mako’s protection around the clock, and upheld the old ways as best as they could.  Guardia continued to prosper, although the hope and excitement that had once covered the land was replaced by anxiety and fear.

Midgar’s ShinRa dynasty took a different approach, deciding to use their crystal for more than just decoration.  The royal scientists began to drain mako power from the crystal, and Midgar developed military technology to protect itself from a physical attack, and advanced medicine to protect its citizens from disease.  Guardia’s scholars were very alarmed at this decision, and did everything they could to convince the ShinRa kings and queens that no good could come out of sucking the life from the planet, but to no avail.  After less than three generations, the crystal had lost almost all its power, and the kingdom was struck by disaster.

Jenova appeared in a storm of wind and fire, and all of the royal scientists and their children were slain in a single night.  In her rage, the witch shattered the crystal.  The king was forced to renounce mako energy, and the populace revolted in a civil war bloodier than any the world had seen.  The ShinRa dynasty ended in disgrace, and the Faremis dynasty began, modeling itself after Guardia and upholding the old ways.

Guardia’s most renowned king, Reeve, was in power when the Midgar civil war ended.  He was a selfless man, putting the safety of the people above all else.  Fearing the wrath of the legendary witch, he decided with a heavy heart to return the final mako crystal to its original home in the mountains, and destroy the maps that led to it.  The advisors accepted this reluctantly, knowing that while the loss of the last crystal would end the golden era forever, humanity would still survive.  And so the second age ended, and the crystals passed out of all knowledge for thousands of years.

Midgar brought a new unity to most of the world as the third age began, colonizing both the shattered remains of Wutai and the old land of the Cetra.  The Faremis dynasty obsessed with finding the shattered remains of their crystal, and eventually recovered the shards of each one but Guardia’s, which remained hidden in the cave of its origin.  Guardia’s rulers made it clear that they would not submit to Midgar’s imperial tendencies, and the Faremis dynasty accepted that.  The two kingdoms remained on good terms, although the Strife rulers never approved of the heavy-handed government that developed in Midgar.

Generations passed, and the two fallen kingdoms became little more than legends.  The crystal shards the Faremis rulers recovered were stolen once more, thankfully without violence.  The scholars of Midgar took to studying science and engineering, ways of improving the people’s quality of life without using the lost magic of mako.  Guardia’s royal family took a more historical approach, studying the ancient knowledge of the Cetra.  It became tradition for the crown princes and princesses to translate the old texts and add their own thoughts, to unravel the planet’s mysteries as well as the whereabouts of the legendary Jenova.

Eventually, the current Queen, Claudia, took the throne.  She was beloved by the people for her intelligence, grace, and dignity.  The queen was honest and fair, and pulled Guardia out of its isolationist ways, opening trade routes to the north and west, and taking Prince Gast of Midgar as her husband.  The old Crystal Guard was deemed obsolete, and appropriated into the Royal Guard, a force for crime control—although they still wore the ancient insignia on their armor, out of honor for the old ways.

Gast was, perhaps, the perfect man to rule at Claudia’s side.  He was imaginative in the ways that she was not, and while he was not the most practical of men, he did give many of the kingdom’s higher-ups good ideas with regards to improving the lives of the people.  Schools flourished, medicine began making advances comparable to Midgar’s, and new methods of agriculture were developed.  And King Gast was as dedicated of a husband as he was a monarch.

The people were hopeful and excited again, and even more so when the news got out that Queen Claudia was pregnant.  The child would be sure to inherit Claudia’s wisdom and practicality, as well as Gast’s devotion and ingenuity.  There was talk of the royal baby leading the kingdom into a new golden era, and preparations were made for the child to grow up intelligent and strong.

A few weeks before the baby was due, the queen became very, very sick.  The king was beside himself with worry—the complications of childbirth were still not well understood, and there was a chance that Claudia would die along with the baby if something was not done.  The royal doctors moved the queen out to the gardens at her request—she spoke of setting her affairs in order, and asked that she be allowed to die under the stars.

Gast locked himself into the royal library, and began feverishly reading the studies of the Cetra, looking for something, anything that could save his beloved wife.  In the dead of night, he found a book claiming that the ancient mako crystals had the power to heal any illness or injury, perhaps even stopping death.  Gast knew the location of the final crystal—it was a well-kept Midgar secret—and he ordered the Royal Guard to retrieve it immediately.

The crystal was brewed into a tea, and in a miracle for the ages, it healed Claudia.  As the sun rose, she gave birth to a beautiful baby boy, with eyes bluer than the summer sky.  The queen named him Cloud, after the first thing his eyes saw.

The kingdom rejoiced—the queen and their new prince were both healthy and safe, and with the power of the final mako crystal flowing through his veins, the boy was sure to grow up to be a powerful and wise ruler.  There was talk of the third age ending, and the king and queen released a single lantern into the sky to celebrate the miracle as the populace cheered.

Unfortunately, for every miracle, there is a tragedy.  On the third morning after Cloud’s birth, the queen awoke to find her son had vanished.  Her sobs could be heard throughout the castle, and the heartbreak of the royal family was felt across the world.  The king and queen refused to believe their son had died, and decided to release lanterns into the night sky every year on his birthday, in the hopes that he would one day come home.

Their grief hung over the kingdom like a shadow, but the king and queen refused to let it take over the rest of their reign.  Three years passed, and Queen Claudia gave birth to another child, a beautiful girl with green eyes who they named Aerith.  They assigned the Royal Guard to watch her at all times, refusing to let another child be stolen from them.  The people dared to dream once more—although power of the crystal had not passed onto Princess Aerith, she was still her parents’ daughter, and would likely lead the world into an era of new growth and prosperity.

The princess was two years old when Midgar fell.

When word of what happened finally reached Guardia, through the diplomacy of the knight Genesis Rhapsodos, it was a tale almost as shocking as it was tragic.  An angel had appeared in the sky one night, a single black wing protruding from his back.  He had burned the castle to the ground, ending the Faremis dynasty and killing the royal advisors in one stroke. 

Needless to say, the Strifes were devastated.  That was Gast’s entire family killed in one night, and they had been very close with the Fairs, had even planned once upon a time for their sons to study together growing up.

Genesis had rushed to the scene, determined to avenge the fallen.  As the fire died down, the angel vanished, leaving a teenage boy with silver hair who had no idea where he was or what he had been doing.  Midgar had fallen into chaos afterwards, with most of the colonies declaring their independence, and various factions in the core of the kingdom vying for power.  In a desperate move for peace, Genesis called a conference between the leaders of each faction.  He lied to the rebel leaders and claimed that the silver-haired boy, Sephiroth, had nothing to do with the burning of the castle.  He convinced them to crown him as the new king, with Genesis serving at his right hand.

Sephiroth had forced the core of the kingdom to remain unified, but allowed the colonies to remain independent.  It took several months for Genesis to earn his trust, but he eventually the knight learned that Sephiroth had been under the mental control of his mother the night of the burning.  She had wanted him to conquer the world, but he no longer wanted anything except to be away from her.

The Strifes were compassionate people, and while they would mourn the loss of the Fairs and the Faremises alongside the loss of their own son, they also extended an offer of friendship to the new king.  They privately suspected that the legendary witch Jenova was responsible—Wutai’s castle had fallen in much the same way, if the legends were to be believed, and the sickness that befell the Cetra proved that the witch could enter people’s minds and influence them.  They pitied any young man who had to suffer at the witch’s hands.

Despite the violent start of his reign, Sephiroth proved to be a peaceful and capable ruler.  He left many of the towns within Midgar to govern themselves, and implemented several of Guardia’s policies over the years to allow the kingdom’s industries to run efficiently and effectively.  He kept up a correspondence with most of the world’s prominent figures, although he never left Midgar.

Guardia’s crown princess grew up in a world that had changed quite a lot in a short period of time.  Her brother’s continued absence hung over the family like a shadow, but Aerith quickly became a remarkable princess in her own right.  She studied politics and poetry, swordplay and science, and was well-loved by the people.  Aerith spent a great deal of time out in the capital city, visiting orphanages and befriending the populace.  She helped tend the royal gardens, and the flowers flourished under her care.  She learned to fight from the Royal Guard’s captain, who became her closest friend.  When she reached her teen years, Aerith began to study the knowledge of the Cetra, as per Strife tradition.  She pored over the old texts, looking for anything to explain the disappearance of her older brother.

Shortly after her eighteenth birthday, Aerith theorized that the legendary witch Jenova had been using the mako crystals to keep herself from aging, and that the great King Reeve had made an excellent choice in relocating the final one to the mountains—it ensured that the witch left Guardia well alone for thousands of years.  She suggested to her parents that perhaps Jenova had kidnapped Cloud, as the only remaining mako lived within his body.

The king and queen were astonished at their daughter’s conclusion—it made more sense than anything they had been able to think of themselves, and it also gave them a plan of action when they had lived for two decades without one.  Claudia ordered most of the Royal Guard to go undercover and leave the city in secret, searching every corner of the world for the lost prince.  Perhaps they would even find him before the next time they lit the lanterns, on what would be Cloud’s twenty-first birthday.

Aerith was unofficially left in charge of governing the kingdom, as her parents’ heads were both in the clouds, dreaming of finally seeing their lost son again.  What little remained of the Royal Guard patrolled Guardia’s capital city to enforce the law.

And so its captain, Tifa Lockhart, was alone in the throne room when three thieves dropped from the ceiling and stole the prince’s crown.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This popped into my head while I was trying to work on my other fic, and...it just had to be written.
> 
> I know this chapter reads more like a history lesson than an actual story, but...it kind of is. I meant to model after the opening for Tangled and it kind of turned into a big mash-up of the lore from FFI/III/IV/V/VII. I was like "I wonder what could replace the drop-of-sunlight bit" and then I realized the good ol' crystals thing would probably do a good job here. And then it took a million years to explain.
> 
> I do intend to keep this going--once I figure out how the hell to handle Cloud's characterization, since he's about as much like Rapunzel as Sephiroth is like Obama. Updates won't be super regular for now, since I'm kind of devoting most of my creative juices to "A Space to Grow." But...stay tuned, I guess.


	2. A Successful Theft

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I've been having a bit of writer's block with my other story, so here's another chapter.

Princess Aerith was right about a great many things, including the fate of her long-lost brother.

Jenova had been using the power of mako to keep herself young for thousands of years—until such time that she could comfortably rule over the pathetic human race, as she was convinced the planet belonged to her and her alone.  Sometime after the first three crystals were shattered, she collected their shards from Midgar and infused them with a child born of her own body, who she named Sephiroth.

Unfortunately, the shards of three crystals did not give her son the same healing power that a whole crystal possessed—so she moved both of them into a secluded tower near enough to the fourth and final crystal that she could visit it regularly and maintain her body’s life force.

When the crystal was taken by the royal guard to heal their pathetic, pregnant queen, there was really no option other than to take back what was hers.  Jenova kept her infamous wing hidden to remain anonymous, and she stole the baby prince in the dead of night, taking him back to the tower.

As soon as Cloud had learned to speak, she taught him how to sing.  _Mako, gleam and glow, let your power shine.  Make the clock reverse, bring back what once was mine.  Heal what has been hurt, change the fates’ design.  Save what has been lost, bring back what once was mine…what once was mine._ It was the same song she used to sing to the crystals, but now that the last one’s power resided in the boy’s body he would need to sing it himself.

Jenova had no love for either child, but she needed them both to trust her, so she tried to act…motherly.  It wasn’t her nature, and she was sure she did a terrible job of it, but as long as neither boy ever met another human soul it wouldn’t matter anyway.  So she constructed a web of lies to keep them trapped in the tower.  Cloud never knew anything but his false family, and the young boy was so inherently trusting that Jenova had no trouble convincing him of the outside world’s dangers.  Sephiroth was harder to persuade—he was eleven when Cloud was brought to the tower, and was uncomfortable enough with kidnapping almost-worthless children that Jenova had needed to use her influence to maintain control over him.

Her plans, tentative as they were, changed a bit when Sephiroth grew his wing.

Jenova probably should have been expecting it—he did carry her genes, after all—but she hadn’t factored it into her plans for eventual world domination.  His new abilities would be very useful for destroying the world’s final two kingdoms.  And so when her son was 16, she sent him away to Midgar, using her influence to have him cause chaos.  The horrified silence of the merchants in Guardia’s villages she bought from confirmed that Sephiroth had succeeded…in something, at least.  She couldn’t leave Cloud by himself long enough to find out.

The boy was five, getting to the age where he began asking a lot of questions.  Too many questions.  _Why can’t we go to Midgar too, Mother?  When will I grow my wing, Mother?  How come Sephiroth can’t sing like I can?  Why do I have to stay here?  Why do my eyes glow?_

Needless to say, it was unbearable.  If Jenova could somehow rip the crystal’s power from Cloud’s body and sustain herself without having to raise the child, she would do it in a heartbeat.  But she was stuck with him now, for better or worse.  So she fed him more lies to stop the incessant questions.  _You’re still just a small bird, my child.  The world is too dangerous for you yet.  When you are as strong as your brother…when you’ve grown your wing, then you can follow him.  Until then, let me protect you.  Stay here where you’re safe._

As he grew older and taller, Cloud would practice with Sephiroth’s old swords in the room she used to keep for him.  He begged her to train him so he could become strong, like his brother.  She figured a real mother would have agreed, that it would have been seen as a loving gesture, so she taught him the same way she taught her son.  Cloud’s natural strength wasn’t as great as hers, but it was more than Sephiroth’s and far greater than that of a normal human.  She figured it must be the full power of mako in his veins.  However, it wasn’t in Jenova’s best interests to tell the truth about the unusual strength Cloud possessed—so she acted as though it were entirely normal, and made sure to reinforce everything in the tower so that he didn’t accidentally destroy something important.  Like the walls.

Which, unfortunately, couldn’t hide everything about the outside world.  Jenova had been very foolish in telling the truth about one thing—Cloud’s birthday.  She rarely stargazed, but the boy loved to, and he took notice of the ceremony the king and queen put on every year.  Thankfully, he never asked her too much about it, simply believing they were special lights in the sky…but he was still young.  That would change with time.

When Cloud was eleven, he became very demanding of a more detailed explanation for his confinement to their home.  Jenova was at something of a loss—Sephiroth had never been quite this curious, but then again, she never gave him time to.  So she told Cloud that his eyes, his magic healing eyes, would be considered a trophy in the outside world (which was true, but for a different reason than what she insinuated).  _The world is very wary of magic, Cloud.  If anyone out there knew you had it…knew you were here…they would show up to take you faster than you could blink.  I know you’ve been getting stronger…but the people out there are stronger still.  They would destroy you in a heartbeat.  You need to stay here for your own safety, my son...until you grow your wing.  Then you will be ready._

As the years wore on, Jenova learned that different children could have different hobbies—something she’d never considered before.  When Cloud was fourteen, he found a chameleon in their kitchen and named it Cait Sith, after a character from one of the few books they had.  The two became inseparable, and Jenova allowed the friendship—it was just a reptile, after all.  Cloud’s interest in swords diminished over time, and he became interested in more…artistic pursuits.  Perhaps the boy would have enjoyed science or history, like Sephiroth—but Jenova was not going to risk him learning anything about his own past.  So she bought him a guitar from a merchant in Banora when he was sixteen, and started bringing him paint to cover the walls with and giving him more of the housework to do.

Eventually, they struck up a new routine that suited them both well.  Thankfully, Cloud became less needy as he got older, and so Jenova would leave the tower for a couple of days at a time to get food, clothing, or other items and leave the boy on his own.  She’d brainwashed him to the point that he would never leave without her permission, and he trusted her with everything.  Almost everything was as it should be.  She learned that while Sephiroth had taken the throne in Midgar, he wasn’t taking over the rest of the world in a storm of destruction like she had wanted him to.  But Jenova would have to leave Cloud for a very long period of time in order to set things right, and neither his trust nor her unnaturally young body could afford it.

What Jenova couldn’t see in her regular absences was how Cloud was growing restless.  By the time he was eighteen, he knew deep down that there was something fundamentally different between him and Sephiroth.  His older brother never sang the song of healing, and his wing grew in several years before Cloud’s would—if it grew in at all.  Cloud wrote songs on his guitar, stargazed, drew landscapes on the walls, kept everything clean, and became undeniably, unbearably bored.  His mother wasn’t around very often anymore to keep him company, and without her presence he began to wonder about a lot of things.

The true nature of the outside world, for instance.  Cloud had way too much time on his hands to think, and he suspected that people out there were more complex than his mother made them out to be.  Maybe they would accept him.  And if they didn’t, maybe they would leave him alone if he put a sword at their throats.  He could defend himself, regardless of what his mother thought.

Cloud started to suspect that the floating lights he saw each year on his birthday were also more complex than he’d grown up believing.  They would rise up in distance after sundown without fail, and he felt…he felt like they were calling to them, somehow.

It was silly, and Cloud knew it.  Floating lights in the sky calling to him?  Impossible.  But at the same time…he hardly knew anything about the outside world, and he desperately wanted to.  He wanted to see those lights up close, if such a thing were possible.

 

\---------------------------------

 

It would have taken someone with wings to spot the unusual figures on the roof of the castle.

If there _was_ someone observing who had wings, they would have seen three tall men—two with hair dark as night, one of whom with an oversized broadsword on his back, and a third whose hair and eyes were covered by an oddly-shaped helmet.  They gracefully scaled up and down the rise and fall of the roof, slowly making their way towards a specific skylight.  One of the men, the dark-haired one without the sword, broke from the group to peer over the edge at the kingdom below.

“Wow,” he breathed in amazement.  “I could get used to a view like this.”

“Zack!” the man with the helmet whispered back.  “We need to get going, before someone sees us.”

“Hold on,” the first man, Zack, answered without looking back.  “Yep.  I’m used to it.”

“Can you believe him, Kunsel?” the man with the sword asked.  “I swear, he has the attention span of a puppy…”

“That hurts all three of my feelings, man,” Zack said, turning to face them and grinning in a manner unusually open for a man of his profession.  “But boy oh boy Angeal, would I like a castle.”

“Well, the money from this job isn’t going to a castle,” Angeal said seriously.  “I feel…dishonorable stealing from a missing prince, but—”

“It’s going to help to find a cure for your poor sick childhood friend, yeah I know.”

Kunsel frowned.  “It’s not going to do anything for Gen if we don’t get that crown _right now_.  Lockhart is in there and she is going to hear us talking.”

Zack put his hands up in surrender as the other two tied a rope around his waist.  “Where’s the satchel?”

Angeal handed it to him.  “Now let’s get this over with.”

As they lowered him into the throne room, Zack couldn’t help but feel a tinge of jealousy at the beauty of it.  The rich carpets, the stained-glass windows, the blue banners with the crystal insignia…he had been destined for something similar once.  _One day, maybe I can steal from him.  Even if petty theft is no payback for cold-blooded murder._

A warrior with long, dark hair was standing guard a few feet away from where he was dangling.  She was the captain of the guard, and a woman Zack was honestly pretty scared of.  Tifa was a few years younger than him and about a foot shorter, but was such a talented and cunning fighter that she rose through the ranks of the guard in a matter of months.  Now served more or less as a right hand to the princess (whose friendship Zack was sure had something to do with her unusually rapid success).  Also, he could tell just by looking that she was almost as muscled as him.  _Impressive.  She could probably kick my ass into next week if she wanted to._

Zack was brought back to reality by a subtle yank on the rope.  _Oops, got a little distracted there._   He carefully picked up the crown from its cushion and put it in the bag, closing it without a sound.

Tifa sneezed, and he couldn’t resist saying something.  “It’s a bit late in the season for allergies, isn’t it?”

His friends were already pulling up the rope when she turned around.  “Wha— _Hewley!_ ” she shouted, immediately making for the door.

“What the hell was that for?!” Kunsel scolded as soon as Zack was up.  “Now we have the most bloody strong warrior in a hundred-mile radius after our hides and we are _not anywhere near safety_.”

Angeal just frowned as he undid the rope.  “We can outrun her.  But I wish you wouldn’t cause so much trouble, Zack.”

“You’re always babying him!”

“He is kind of a baby.”

“I thought I was more of a puppy?”

Angeal tossed the rope into the satchel.  “Whatever.  Let’s move out.”

The three thieves, royal crown in tow, scaled back down the roof without ceremony.  They ran through the crowded streets like their lives depended on it (which they did), and made it all the way to the city gates without trouble.

Angeal looked over his shoulder as they crossed the bridge out.  “We’ve got company.  She’s brought Nanaki.”

 _Oh, shit._   That horse was faster than lightning and twice as smart.  If lightning could be called smart.  Zack looked back for a moment to confirm that Tifa was both very angry and very close.  “Come and get it!” he shouted teasingly, waving the satchel at her.

“Oh, I will!” she yelled back, spear in hand.  “And I’ll get you, too!”

“I’m not really interested in you like that, but I’m flattered anyway!”

Kunsel managed to groan despite the exertion they were going through.  “Do you have to flirt with everyone who chases us?”

Zack laughed as he ran.  “Why not?  We’ve already had so much fun today and it’s only an hour after sunrise!”

They slowly managed to get some distance from Tifa, mostly because they’d entered the forest outside the city, and horses weren’t really meant to gallop through forests.  They found a large tree at which to catch their breath, and Zack gasped when he saw three wanted posters stapled to it.  The one for him…no, it was too horrible, he couldn’t bring himself to look at it for more than a second.

“No no no no no no.  Guys, this is bad, it’s bad, this is really really bad.”

He turned the poster towards them, and Angeal just shrugged.  He could almost see Kunsel’s eyes rolling through the helmet.

“They just can’t get my scar right!”  Truly, a disaster—the artist had drawn it diagonally across his nose and forehead, in a manner that was just very _not him._

“It’s not that bad, puppy,” Angeal said dismissively, straightening up so they could keep moving.

“Easy for you to say!  You look amazing,” he said, taking down his poster to show him.  “They got your frown lines perfect.  And I have never seen a more accurate rendition of your helmet, Kunsel.”

The sound of something coming through the brush startled them.  “It was foolish of you three to stop!” Tifa said, snarling almost as much as Nanaki.

Zack turned and ran, not a second later than his comrades.  They cut a diagonal path through the undergrowth, aiming to shake her off again.  After a couple of minutes, they came to a natural fork in the trail.

“I think we should separate,” Kunsel suggested, panting heavily.  “Zack, you keep the satchel and find somewhere to hide.  We’ll throw her off.”

Angeal nodded.  “Meet back at our usual spot for lunch.”

Zack gave them a two-fingered salute and ran up the left road, which turned out to be a very bad idea because Tifa chose the same one.  _Good lord I am in so much trouble right now how can I get away from her—_

He saw a very messy tangle of branches ahead and jumped through, not reckless in the slightest.  There was no way the horse could get through that, right?

Wrong.  “We’ve got him now, Nanaki!” Tifa said encouragingly, setting aside her spear in exchange for a crossbow.  _Well, that’s not good._

Zack grabbed a hanging vine and swung a wide circle around the nearest tree, aiming his boots straight at Tifa’s breastplate.  “Sorry for this,” he said as he kicked her off the horse.  She landed in a pile of leaves, she’d be fine.

Grabbing the reigns, he made as though to encourage Nanaki to move faster, but the damned horse knew he wasn’t Tifa and skidded to a stop within the space of a few feet.  Nanaki reared his head around, spotted the satchel, and started trying to snatch it with his teeth.

Zack knew a lost cause when he saw it.  He rolled off the horse’s back, praying that the move was enough of a surprise for him to get away quickly.  Throwing caution to the wind, he ran straight into the bushes—better to get poison oak than get trampled by a red horse.

Unfortunately, Nanaki followed him, and it turned into a contest of agility.  Which was ridiculous, because Zack wasn’t _that_ big of a guy and should easily have been able to beat a horse in cutting through branches and vines.  But no, Nanaki remained dangerously close behind him and _oh Gaia where did the forest go._

It was unusual for Zack to hate feeling the open air around him, but it was feeling it _below_ him that caused his panic, standing on a dead tree trunk overlooking a gorge.  Of course the horse showed up too, and was slowly making his way towards him.  Zack backed away, praying for some miracle to happen, because he was only 23 and that was too young to die on a cliff where no one would remember him.

His prayers were answered…sort of.  The trunk snapped when Nanaki was almost to him.  They both screamed as they fell into the gorge, wind in their faces.  They hit a rock at some point, and Zack only landed safely and alone through about a thousand strokes of luck.

Rubbing the side of his face, he stood up and looked around.  He’d been in this part of the forest before…once or twice.  He groaned when he realized this little detour would make him late to the rendezvous point if he didn’t get his butt in gear and head back.

He was a few minutes into walking out of the gorge when the sound of angry horse almost brought tears to his eyes.  _Can this just not be happening right now, please?_

Zack quickly ducked behind a nearby rock as Nanaki literally sniffed his way over, and he knew he needed to get out of here quickly.  There was a set of vines behind him, and Zack slowly reached his hand out experimentally.

He struck gold, because there was a space behind the vines.  Zack ducked into it to find it was a small cave…it was almost as if the vines were placed there on purpose to hide it.  Well, he wasn’t complaining.  He pressed himself against the wall of the cave as Nanaki finished investigating and moved on.

Zack let out a breath he didn’t know he’d been holding and rubbed the sweat from his brow.  _Gaia, that was strange._   Turning away from the vines, he walked out of the cave to see something stranger still.

A tower.  Of all the things to randomly exist in this gorge.  And it was a tall tower, too—it made a pretty sight against the ivy-covered cliffs and the nearby waterfall, and Zack wondered how he hadn’t seen it before.  He weighed his options here.  He had two daggers on him…he could use them to climb up and see if there was anything worth taking.  It’s not like anyone could live in an abandoned tower in the woods, right?

Zack looked up at the sun.  He hadn’t been alone for very long yet…there was time.  And his friends would probably be less annoyed with him for being late if he brought something else valuable to the rendezvous point.  _Alright, I’m going up._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I bet you all are wondering how Cloud is going to tie Zack up without having long magic hair. And how they're going to get out of the tower without Cloud having long magic hair. I am also wondering these things.
> 
> Also...I just realized that I didn't replace the Carrie Fisher quote...lol. It's pretty funny to me the way it is so I'm not changing it.


	3. Anticipation

Like many young men, Cloud was woken early that morning by the sound of his mother calling for help.

“Cloud, dear!” she shouted.  “Get up, I need you for something!”

He threw off the covers without opening his eyes.  “Five more minutes,” he said hoarsely.  It came out too quiet, so he said it again.  “Five more minutes, Mother!”

The door to his bedroom clicked open and he groaned.

“Honestly dear, you need to work on getting out of bed sooner, it’s very clumsy to just lounge about all day.”

She was right and he knew it, but that didn’t change that Cloud wanted to sleep in, at least until sunrise.  Especially today, since he had been in the middle of an interesting dream.

He opened his eyes with a sigh, and Mother smiled down at him.  “Good morning,” she said, brushing the bangs out of his face.  “Now hurry and get dressed so you can sing me goodbye, hmm?”

“How long will you be gone?” he asked.  A simple question.  It was just that…his birthday was coming up, and the two of them usually spent it together.  He rather hoped they could spend this year’s somewhere outside of home, but he didn’t say anything about that just yet.  _Patience._

“Don’t worry, I’ll only be gone for a couple hours,” she said with a smile, not seeming to catch his meaning.  “But I’m feeling so tired this morning, so it would be wonderful if you could sing the song for me, okay?”

Cloud nodded.  “Alright.”

Mother left, and he got out of bed and walked over to his closet, taking out his usual clothes.  He looked at himself in the mirror and ran his hands through his hair—it stuck out in all directions, but Mother had encouraged him to grow it out enough to show.  Apparently, the look suited him.  Cloud didn’t really care either way, but it made his mother happy, so he went with it.  He looked back toward the bed, where his chameleon was still sound asleep.  _Lucky Cait.  He gets to experience all of his dreams._

He walked down into their main living area to find Mother standing in the center of the room, waiting for him.  Like he’d done a thousand times before, he took his place across from her.

“You’ve grown up so much,” she said absentmindedly, looking up at him.  “Who said you could grow taller than me?”

“Um, that’s not really something I can control, Mother…”

She poked his shoulder, causing him to stumble back.  “You know I’m just teasing, Cloud,” she said with a smile.  “Now sing for me.”

Cloud rested his hands on his mother’s shoulders and focused on a familiar spot on her forehead before starting the song.  “Mako, gleam and glow…let your power shine…make the clock reverse…bring back what once was mine…”

He could see the glow of his eyes reflected in hers—he knew this was the reason he remained in their tower.  He couldn’t protect himself out there yet, not without his wing, and certainly not when every person in the world would want him for his eyes.  _According to Mother, anyway._

“Heal what has been hurt…change the fates’ design…save what has been lost…bring back what once was mine, what once was mine.”

The song ended, and the worry lines and grey hairs disappeared from his mother’s head, leaving her looking youthful and healthy.  “Thank you, dear,” she said, picking up her bag and heading for the window.  “I’ll be back sometime before midday.”

 _Now or never._ “Wait, um…Mother.”

She turned back around.  “Yes?”

“It’s…um…”

She walked back up to him and pinched his cheek, and he scowled.  “You’re not finishing your sentences, dear,” she said with a smile.  “You know I can’t read your mind, and it’s very hard to understand you sometimes—I’m just teasing again, you’re perfect the way you are.”

Mother turned to leave again, avoiding his questions the way she always did, and Cloud took a deep breath.  “It’s my birthday tomorrow.”

“Are you sure?  Wasn’t your birthday last year? …Oh, yes, I almost forgot, it _is_ tomorrow, isn’t it?”

He nodded.  “Mother…I’m going to be twenty-one.  And…what I really want this year…is to see the floating lights.”

Her smile suddenly became a lot more strained, and Cloud knew deep down this wasn’t going to go well.  “What floating lights?  I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she lied.

Cloud ran back upstairs to grab his sketchbook, and flipped it to the right page as he walked back down.  “These lights,” he said, pointing at one of the many pictures he’d drawn of them.  He made a habit of sitting at his window every year and sketching the lights, to see how much he improved as time went on if nothing else.  “I was hoping you would take me to see them this year, Mother.”

“Aren’t those just the stars, dear?”

He resisted the urge to sigh, knowing it would annoy her further.  “No, Mother, stars are constant…these only show up once a year, on the night of my birthday.  I know it’s silly, but I can’t help but feel…they’re meant for me, somehow.  Even just as a really cool twenty-first birthday present.  And we would get to spend time together again, if we went.”

The recognition in Mother’s eyes was unmistakable, though Cloud could tell from the hardness of her jaw that she’d already made up her mind.  “You want to go outside, Cloud?” she said, blocking the window.  _Here comes the lecture again._

“Yes,” he said, not willing to back down.  He’d already said more than he could reasonably take back.

“Believe me when I say this dear, you won’t last long out there.  You need to stay here—”

“Where I’m safe, I know, I know,” Cloud finished.  “But if you came with me—”

“How would I possibly be able to ensure your safety for the whole trip?  Stay by your side every second?  It’s not realistic, dear.”

“What’s not realistic is me living out the rest of my life in this tower, Mother,” Cloud said, tone more challenging than she usually allowed.  “Seph’s wing came in when he was sixteen.  I’m _five years_ older than that now.  Maybe…maybe we could…I don’t know…”

“That’s right, you don’t know,” she said, her sing-song tone not doing enough to cover up her irritation.  “I can’t read your mind when you don’t finish your sentences, Cloud, but I _am_ your mother and I understand you well enough.  You’re not strong enough yet, and that’s that.  See you later, dear.  I love you.”

“I love you too, Mother,” Cloud said, trying not to sound as defeated as he felt.

He watched as she let her wing fly free, and left through the window.  _Will I ever be as free as that?_

Cait Sith came out of the bedroom a few minutes later and curled up on his shoulder.  “Lazy chameleon,” Cloud said fondly, standing up and heading for the kitchen.

He cooked up a small breakfast and ate it on the windowsill, staring outside like he’d been doing his whole life.  The clearing the tower was in ended with a cave, and on the other side was a large hilly forest.  Cloud longed to feel the real ground under his feet, instead of just the smooth floors of the tower.  _One day._

And past the forest, just beyond the horizon, was where the floating lights would appear tomorrow night.  Cloud tried not to think about that too much—he couldn’t get out of the tower without help, and it was looking like it was going to be yet another year spent indoors.

Cloud grabbed his sketchbook from where he’d set it down during the argument, and turned to a different page.

He’d been having… _different_ dreams than usual lately.  More vivid, but also more imaginative.  With little else to do, Cloud had taken up the task of trying to draw out what he saw while he was asleep.

It was a difficult feat, largely because he could only remember a small detail or two out of every dream, and he didn’t have them every night.  But there was a specific vision of himself that he saw pretty frequently, and had drawn up a nearly-complete picture of.

In the dreams, he was always wearing black.  A black tunic, but with a collar that covered half of his neck and in a rough-looking fabric Cloud had never seen before.  Black pants with black boots.  Black gloves with silver bands.  And a leather-looking band around his belly, held in place by straps that went over his shoulders.

Before his mother had woken him up, he’d been rather focused on his dream-self’s left shoulder.  A curved piece of metal, like some sort of armor, had rested there.  He tried to draw it out, and was satisfied after about a half hour of tweaks and redraws.

The one thing about the dreams that ate at his mind was that his dream-self was definitely carrying a sword, but Cloud could never remember a clue about what it looked like when he woke up.

Like he did more and more often nowadays, Cloud entered the old practice room and looked at all of Sephiroth’s old practice swords.  He had redrawn his dream-self with each one of these, and all of them looked…wrong.  Incomplete.

He held up the updated drawing to each one and shook his head in disappointment.  They were all just as ill-fitting now as they were a few days ago, when he’d dreamed up the leather straps.

Cloud turned to a different page in the sketchbook.  His dreams weren’t entirely devoid of other people, which was probably strange considering his lifelong isolation.  Mother never, ever showed up in his dreams, but Sephiroth sometimes did.  Looking older, colder…meaner.  _I was so young when he left…I’m also older and meaner, probably._

He never bothered trying to draw his brother—whatever he wore in the dreams was too complicated to render with a basic quill, and the sword he wielded was the same one that he had taken when he left home.  _Masamune._

There were others, too.  People Cloud had obviously never met, people who might not even exist, people whose faces always turned up blank but whose clothing and personalities left fleeting impressions on him.

A woman in a short skirt held up by suspenders, who fought fiercely and loved deeply.  A man with a machine of some sort attached to his arm, who was trying to save the dream-world by destroying those who would harm it.  Cloud very vaguely recalled a man who kept a fire near his mouth, which he couldn’t make sense of.  And a girl who liked to steal.  More recently, a woman in pink had started to appear.  He was always falling, crashing whenever he came across her, and she always tried to reach him but never could.  And last week, he’d caught a glimpse of a man in the same clothes as him, with the same elusive sword, but even compared to the others his presence was like smoke.

He opened up to a new page and drew outlines of them.  A dress that almost reached the tops of boots, and a jacket worn over it.  More black—tunic, pants, boots, and gloves.  Cloud thought for a moment, and then drew the strange piece of armor on both of the elusive man’s shoulders.  _Wow, that actually looks fitting._

Cait Sith dragged one of their books over to him and opened up to the middle, pointing at a line for Cloud to read.  “’It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live,’” he read aloud.  “Well Cait, I’ll stop thinking about these dreams as soon as I have something better to do, okay?”

A noise started both man and chameleon.  A thud outside the tower.  They never heard thuds.  Cait scurried towards the kitchen and Cloud followed him, weighing his options.  Mother _never_ climbed into the tower—she always just flew straight through the window.  So if he wasn’t just hearing things, someone was coming for him…for his eyes.

The thuds continued, and were increasing in volume, so Cloud decided it would be better to be safe than sorry.  He grabbed the closest thing in the kitchen resembling a weapon—he cursed himself for the choice, a frying pan wasn’t nearly as useful of a tool as one of the swords but he didn’t have time to go grab one and a blunt instrument would still be more effective than a simple kitchen knife.

Cloud slinked back into the living area.  The window did have blind spots—he’d amused himself as a child by hiding in them in attempts to scare Mother.  He moved into one of them now and held up the frying pan, ready to fight for his life.

A tan hand appeared in the windowsill, followed by another, then a brown boot, then the body of a dark-haired man considerably taller than Cloud.  _I’ve never seen anyone with black hair before.  It even spikes out, almost like mine does._   The man wiped sweat off of his brow and put his hands on his hips.  “Alright, what’s worth taking?” he said to himself.

Well, Cloud wasn’t about to go willingly, even if this might be a losing battle.  He resisted the urge to yell and swung the frying pan silently, hitting the intruder on the side of the head.  He collapsed on the spot, and Cloud was both slightly surprised and very pleased.  _And Mother said I was defenseless._

Cloud looked out at the sun—he still had some time before Mother was due back.  He put the frying pan back in the kitchen and hoped she wouldn’t notice the sweat on it before he had a chance to wash it.  Then he reentered the living room to find Cait walking circles around the unconscious man.

“Move over, let me,” Cloud said, propping the man into a sitting position against the wall so he could get a better look at him.  He looked to be roughly the same age as Cloud, perhaps a bit older.  There wasn’t anything special about his pants or boots—both were in roughly the same style and color as everything Cloud had in his wardrobe, which wasn’t much.  He wore a vest of indigo, the cut similar to Cloud’s tunic but without the collar, over a plain white shirt that hid what were probably fairly impressive muscles.  He _had_ climbed up the whole height of the tower himself, and Cloud knew from years of thinking it over that such a feat would take a fair amount of strength.

Cloud looked at his own arms, then hesitantly reached out to feel the other man’s bicep through the fabric of his shirt.  _About the same size…maybe I could take him even without the element of surprise._

An idea was forming in Cloud’s mind.  He would hide the man somewhere in the tower, wait for Mother to come back, and then prove that he was strong enough to go with her to see the lights.

Actually picking up the man proved to be something of a challenge, though.  It wasn’t that he was too heavy, it was just that he was too _big._   Cloud could carry him in his arms, but the other man took up too much space horizontally for him to fit through any doors.  He tried to set up a sort of piggyback arrangement, but his legs were too long.

Cursing, Cloud gave up and set the man down in one of the kitchen chairs.  “You’re making this very difficult for me,” he said to himself more than anyone else.

The man didn’t respond, still unconscious.  He had longer eyelashes than either him or Mother, or even Sephiroth from what Cloud could remember.  Despite the admittedly violent way he had become unconscious, the man’s lips were curved up in a small smile as he slept.  It almost made Cloud want to trust him.  Almost.

Then he moved, which started Cloud out of his chair and onto his feet.  Thankfully it was only to loll his head to the other side, which revealed an x-shaped scar on the left side of jaw.  _Interesting._

Cloud had scars, though they were few and far between.  When he’d first started sword training with Mother, the pain of accidental cuts was enough that he couldn’t sing the song of healing through the tears, so there were a few assorted marks on either of his arms.  Mother had used them as lessons to reinforce the idea that he was only safe here in the tower.

A thought struck him.  He took one of the man’s arms and slung it around his shoulders, and then wrapped one of his own around the other’s waist.  _This might work._

It was an awkward position to walk in, but afforded him more mobility than anything else he’d tried.  Cloud half-carried the other man into his bedroom and set him down in the closet, shutting the doors.  _I need something to keep this closed with._

Barricading it with a chair or other piece of furniture would be too obvious, so Cloud went into his mother’s room and found her sewing kit.  He cut off a length of her strongest thread— _this is what she used to repair Sephiroth’s clothes_ —and went back to his closet, tying it around the doorknobs.  _That should keep him effectively trapped for a while._   _Alright Cloud, act natural.  Mother’s not back yet, you need to pretend there isn’t a person in your closet.  Calm down._

He walked back into the living room, and his attention was caught by a brown bag under the windowsill.  The man must have had it on him when he came up, and dropped it when he collapsed.  Well, he’d been about to kidnap Cloud and probably steal some other stuff, so he thought retaliation was appropriate.

Cloud was disappointed when there wasn’t anything in the bag except for what looked like a _really weird_ piece of jewelry.  Mother had a few necklaces that she wore sometimes, and she’d pierced a stud into his left ear when he was thirteen, but he’d never seen anything like…whatever this was.

He looked at Cait Sith, who shrugged in the comical way only a chameleon can shrug.  “Yeah, I get it.  You’re just a reptile and don’t have any clue what this is either.”

It was a circlet of gold inlaid with a pattern of jewels in white and blue…too wide and too stiff to be a necklace.  It was also pretty clearly not meant to go in one’s ear, or over one’s fingers like the rings characters in books had sometimes.

Cloud experimentally held out his arm and dropped the circlet onto it, looking at Cait Sith, who shook his head.  _Yeah, it would be pretty difficult to actually do anything wearing it like this._

Deciding he would run into the same issue putting it on his leg, Cloud held the circlet in front of his eyes.  Maybe the jewels were meant to be used as lenses of some sort.  He peered through at Cait Sith, who shook his head again.  _Aren’t glasses supposed to be worn on the ears, anyway?_

That gave him an idea.  He turned to face the mirror and lined up the center of the jewel pattern with the center of his face, then set the circlet on top of his head.  It was a surprisingly good fit, considering how the spikes of his hair poked around it.  “This has to be how it’s meant to be worn, right?”

Cait Sith shook his head again.  _That’s what you think.  I don’t see how else a person would wear this thing.  Even so…you’d have to walk very slowly or risk it falling off.  Not practical at all._

The familiar sound of a flapping wing brought Cloud back to reality.  He scrambled to put the circlet back in the satchel and stuffed it under the couch cushions just in time to see his mother fly through the window.

“Hello, Cloud!” Mother said warmly as she let her wing dissipate.  “I have a big surprise for you!”

“Uh, me too.”  _And I guarantee it’s a bigger surprise than what you have._

“Alright, but let me go first,” she said distractedly, reaching into her bag.  “I got us some of your favorite things for dinner!  Parsnips, sweet potatoes, and peanuts…not exactly a great combination, but you don’t mind, right?”

“Of course not, Mother.”  _I won’t mind anything if I can go see those lights._

“Then what was your surprise?” she asked with a smile.

“I thought a lot about what you said earlier,” Cloud said, “and I—”

“Is this still about the stars?” Mother asked, tone sweet but full of warning.  “I thought we were done discussing this.”

“I’m just saying, you said I can’t protect myself without my wing, right? But—”

Her smile turned into more of a grimace.  “I know for a fact you can’t protect yourself without it.  This isn’t something to argue about, dear.”

“But let me show you something that might change your mind—”

“ _No_ , Cloud,” Mother said, putting a hand to her temple.  “You could have an entire army trapped in this tower and it wouldn’t change my mind.”

 _That’s an odd choice of words._   “What if I told you I’d grown my wing?”

“It’s time we had an honest talk about something, Cloud,” she said.  “You’re never going to grow your wing.”

Cloud felt his shoulders droop, but the disappointment was less than he expected.  _I knew it._   “But…I’m your son, and you have one…and Seph has one…”

“It’s a genetic thing, dear,” Mother said in a tone that was too honest for him to disbelieve.  “You inherited the healing powers, not the wing.  It’s not possible to have both.”

Then the implications of that hit him, and he felt anger rise up in his chest.  “So have you been lying to me my whole life, then?  For the past _sixteen years_ you’ve told me that I can leave when the wing grows in!  You’ve been giving me false hope this whole time!”

“I’m sorry,” she said plainly, and then fell silent.

“Then what I have to show you is even more important,” he said, trying to salvage the situation.  “If I can prove that I can defend myself—”

“Don’t you see, Cloud?!  You are _never leaving_ ,” Mother said, sounding angrier than he had ever heard her.  “ _Ever!_ ”

“Then…can I ask for something else for my birthday?” he asked, putting as much false apology into his voice as possible.  _There’s still a way I can go, if she’ll just leave for a while._

Mother turned her back to him.  “What?”

“A lute,” he said.  “I’ve been wanting to learn a new instrument for a while…”

“That’s an extremely long trip, Cloud,” she said, sounding snippy but otherwise resigned.  “I’ll have to go all the way to Midgar.  It’ll take several days.”

“I just thought it was a better idea than...stargazing,” Cloud said, trying to make himself look smaller.  _I hope this works._

Sure enough, Mother turned back around and gave him a tight hug.  “Happy birthday, dear,” she said, reaching up to kiss his cheek.  “I’ll miss you.”

“I’ll miss you too.”

Mother picked up her cloak and her purse, let her wing loose, and waved him goodbye.

Cait Sith looked at Cloud, and then at his bedroom door.  “All right then,” he said, determined to get what he wanted.  “Let’s mosey.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't resist the let's mosey. It's too good of a line to not use.
> 
> I acknowledge that this fic has followed the movie's script pretty closely, but that's changing with the next chapter, because I finally have a finished outline! It's gonna start with some sideplot--stuff with Princess Aerith and Tifa, and their concern over various things. Then we'll get to see Cloud interrogate Zack. I'm pretty excited to write that, not gonna lie. Confrontational Cloud is one of my favorite things.
> 
> Expect it...sometime in the future. (I'm kind of gravitating towards the goal of finishing my main fic in time for Clack Day, which is a *shit ton* of words, so that's why.)


	4. A Deal is Struck

_I am truly sorry for what has happened to Sir Genesis—he has been a dear friend to my parents since I was a little girl, and a dear friend to you as well.  Unfortunately, the symptoms you listed don’t line up with anything in the ancient texts, but I am still doing everything I can to help find a cure._

Aerith set her quill down for a moment to rest her chin on her hands and look out the window, reminiscing about the knight who had fallen ill.  She didn’t know him very well, at least not in the same way King Sephiroth and her parents did.  The last time Sir Genesis had visited Guardia, she had still been a child of twelve, and had been largely kept out of the actual diplomatic affairs.  But he had stopped in on her studies fairly regularly on his visits, to discuss the deeper meanings of texts with her and to offer his own commentary.

There was one time, when Aerith was nine, that she was studying _Loveless._   Sir Genesis’s eyes had practically lit up with joy when he saw what she was reading, and she listened as he ramble on and on about the prophetic meaning of each act.  _Infinite in mystery is the gift of the goddess_ had always been his go-to line whenever he needed to make light of something strange that had happened.  Apparently, King Sephiroth found his incessant recitals rather annoying—Aerith could imagine that being the case, but it to her, it was more endearing than anything else.  He would have made a good tutor if he hadn’t chosen the path of a warrior.

He’d used another line from the play in his most recent letter to her—the only one he had sent since fallen mysteriously ill.  _My friend, the fates are cruel._   The good knight found himself aging more rapidly than natural, more irritable than usual, and worst of all, old injuries were reopening.  This mysterious illness would kill him soon if kept unchecked.  _The fates are cruel indeed.  I hope we can save him before it’s too late._

Aerith had never met Midgar’s King Sephiroth, but she couldn’t even begin to imagine the pain and heartache he must be going through.  Sir Genesis was a family friend to her, but he was Sephiroth’s closest friend and confidante.  So she had taken it upon herself to look for a cure, on top of all of her other duties.

It was a difficult problem.  Initially, she had offered her friendship as well as a great deal of gold to any doctor who could help, but none of them had any idea what was ailing the knight.  _I’m sorry, princess, but the cure is beyond what money can buy,_ the last one had said in a letter of response.  _If only it were still the old days of ShinRa…their scientists might have known what to do._

So she consulted the knowledge of the Cetra, but it would seem nothing similar had ever happened in their ancient civilization.  Aerith wanted to believe that perhaps Genesis had fallen ill with whatever had caused the Cetra’s downfall, but that was impossible.  It had been an age since then, and from what the records showed, it was a much swifter illness than what the knight had.

She sighed and picked up the quill again.  _Do not despair, Sephiroth.  There is still hope.  My parents have sent out most of the Royal Guard in search of my brother—he was abducted as an infant five years before you came into power.  The magic of the last mako crystal flows through his veins—theoretically, he would have the power to heal anything, including whatever has befallen Sir Genesis.  If he is found in time, I will make sure he comes to Midgar to heal your friend.  Best wishes, Crown Princess Aerith of Guardia._

A knock at her door came as she was putting away her stationery.  “Excuse me, Aerith,” came a familiar voice.

 “Come in, Tifa!” she said, standing up and smoothing out her dress.

Her best friend opened the door and stormed in, looking more disheveled than usual.  “I have some bad news,” she said.

“Oh dear…alright, it’s also time for training, so I’ll get changed and meet you in the armory.  Tell me the bad news afterwards, okay?”  _Maybe it’ll take my mind off of Genesis._

Tifa nodded and straightened her tunic before heading out again.  _I wonder what the bad news is, though.  She seems unusually upset._

Aerith opened her wardrobe and picked out a simple pink shift.  It was far too casual for the princess to wear most of the time, but the fabric was flexible enough for her to fight in.  She liked it so much that she’d had a few of them made, in a style just regal enough that she could wear them on her days in town.  She paired it with a red jacket.  _I feel…powerful wearing this, somehow.  It’s silly, but I’m sure Tifa would understand—the Royal Guard uniform is representative of generations of honor and pride.  Clothing can have meaning._

She encountered no one on the way to the armory, which wasn’t surprising.  Most of the guard had gone to look for Cloud, and the ones who remained took turns guarding the library, the throne room, and her parents.  Tifa had seen to it that the princess could defend herself to make up for the lack of security.

_A bodyguard would be nice, though.  Someone to make sure I’m safe while I bring flowers to the city’s children…the danger is small, but there nonetheless.  And Tifa’s other duties prevent me from going as often as I’d like._

The castle’s other servants were in the kitchens and courtyards, preparing for the festival tomorrow.  Her parents had requested even more lanterns than usual to be made, still hoping their son would return home in time.  _It’s looking less and less likely…but we can’t lose hope.  Cloud could be just around the next corner._

The captain was waiting for her when she arrived, cracking her knuckles and looking positively angry.  “Are you _sure_ you don’t want to know immediately?” she asked.  “It would be a lot easier to take care of if I could get started now.”

“Yes, I’m sure,” Aerith said patiently.  “You need to let off some steam before you go dealing with anything.”

“I _guess_ you’re right,” Tifa said with a huff.  “We’re starting empty-handed, then.  Just a grabbing defense.  Then we’ll do weapons.”

Aerith groaned.  “Not swords again…”

“No, I think we’ve figured out that blades aren’t for you,” Tifa said with a short laugh.  “They’re not for me either, to be honest.  So I was thinking maybe we could get you started with a staff.  The basics of it are easier than with a sword, and if you like it I can try to teach you some of the fancier techniques.”

“Yeah, that sounds great!” Aerith said.  _Less flashy, more utilitarian._   “I can probably take a staff with me when I go out, too.”

“That’s the idea,” Tifa said, walking over to stand in front of her.  “Okay, we’re gonna try something Ol’ Zangan liked to call the ‘Iron Cross.’  Hold out your hands.”  Aerith complied, and Tifa firmly gripped her wrists.  “Alright, you remember how I taught you to reverse the grip a few weeks ago?”

Aerith nodded and bit her lip in concentration.  _Turn my hands to the outside…then flick them back in and grab her wrists.  Circular motions._   She was too slow the first time, but Tifa waited patiently for her to get it right.  _Faster and more forceful…there!_

“Alright, good job!” Tifa said, beaming.

“But if anyone ever actually attacks me, they’re not just going to sit there and wait for me to respond,” Aerith said with a huff.

“Hey, you’re fine.  That’s why we’re practicing.  And this hypothetical attacker also wouldn’t be expecting you to fight back, so you’ll have the element of surprise,” Tifa said brightly.  _This really is her element…one day, when all of this is behind us, maybe she can do some more teaching._   “Okay, now take your right foot and move it towards my left shoulder…yeah, like that…go ahead and lift that arm…alright, you see how we’re back to back?  Now crouch down so that I’m putting most of my weight on you.”

Aerith did it, but it felt more awkward than anything else.  “Okay, how would this position be at all effective?” she said, looking at the floor.

“Think about where my shoulder joints are.  If you yanked your hands down fast enough, you’d dislocate both of my shoulders.  The hypothetical attacker wouldn’t be able to do much anytime soon.”  _That’s actually pretty cool._

She nodded and let go, and the two women stepped away from each other and practiced the technique a few more times.  Aerith realized, with a rush of pride that she was learning to consider such things, that the technique would work very well against taller and heavier attackers.

They moved on to weapons practice, and it turned out that the staff was a much better fit for her than the sword—the handling of it came to her almost like she’d learned it in another life, and she easily put enough force behind the strikes to make Tifa proud.

They stopped training only when both women couldn’t quite catch their breath.  Aerith caught the attention of a passing servant and requested some water.  “So what was this news?” she asked, once she’d quenched her thirst.

Tifa frowned and took a long moment to think before shaking her head.  “The crown’s been stolen,” she said flatly.

 _That’s not possible._ “What?  How?  No one’s broken into my chambers, I would have known.”

The captain didn’t meet her gaze.  “Not your crown.”

 _If not my crown, then…oh.  OH._ Aerith raised her eyebrows and took a deep breath.  “So you’re saying…somebody got into the throne room, with _you_ there, took the crown, and _got away?_ ”

“Um…yes,” she admitted, putting her hands on her hips.  “The Hewley brothers, if you’ve heard of them—they dropped down from the skylight, and I tailed them deep into the forest until one of them, the one without the broadsword or the helmet, knocked me off my horse.  I hadn’t been expecting it—he hadn’t exactly been a smart target before then.  I lost them, so I came back here as fast as I could.  I’m sorry, princess.”

“No, it’s fine—I mean, it’s not fine, but it’s not your fault either,” Aerith said, rubbing her temple.  _Why would thieves take something so high-profile?  Unless they needed an enormous sum of money, but wouldn’t it be obvious how risky it is for them?_ “Just…get it back, okay?  Before my parents find out.  And bring the thieves here.  I want to know why they took it.”

“Criminals don’t use the same moral compass as compassionate people like you, Aerith,” Tifa said, picking up her spear.  “But I’ll take care of it all the same.”

 

\---------------------------------

 

Zack yelped, abruptly returning to consciousness.  _Was something…in my ear?_

He shook his head and tried to remember what happened.  _I climbed up the tower…I walked inside…and that’s it.  Something must have hit me.  But I don’t have a headache…what kind of head injury doesn’t leave a headache?_

The room he was in looked like a regular old kitchen.  Regular enough that it even seemed as though people were using it, which didn’t line up at all with Zack’s expectations.  There was a single window in his line of sight, and from the specific angle of the scenery outside he knew without a doubt he was still in the tower.  _So something moved me into this room._

He looked down.  Well, that was different.  He was in a wooden chair, wrists and ankles bound by…thread.  He struggled to break free before figuring out that this was unusually (possibly even supernaturally) strong thread, and that he must have been hit by some _one_ rather than some _thing_.

And it was just as he was coming to this realization that a very sharp knife appeared at his throat, and his eyes widened.  _Well, that’s a fine how-do-you-do._

“If you haven’t picked up on this already, struggling is pointless,” a man’s voice, smooth and deep, said from behind him.  “I know why you’re here, and if the knife doesn’t make it clear, I’m not afraid of you.”

Zack gulped.  _First the crown, then the captain, then the horse, then the tower, now this.  Great._   “Can you, uh, move the knife, please?  It’s kind of freaking me out.”

“Fine.  But I will use it if you give me good reason,” the man said, and the knife was withdrawn.  Then he heard footsteps, and the man came into view.

He said something else, but Zack was too curious to listen.  The man had blond hair that formed spikes not dissimilar to his own ( _I’ve never met anyone else with spiky hair_ ), and he was wearing a high-collared blue tunic that bared his arms—which were nearly as muscled as Zack’s own.  _They’d have to be if he lives here…it was pretty tiring climbing up those walls._

What was the most captivating about the man, though, were his eyes—the bluest Zack would probably ever see, and their piercing gaze was both mesmerizing and…angry.  _Of course he’s unhappy, I’ve been staring at him like an idiot instead of listening to what he’s saying._

“I _said_ , who are you, and how did you find me?” the man questioned, motioning to take the knife back out.

Zack cleared the sudden lump his throat and tried to meet that piercing stare.  “I have no idea who you are, man.  And I definitely didn’t come here looking for you.”

The blond scoffed.  “I don’t believe that for a second.”

“No, I’m serious!  My name’s Zack Hewley, I was being chased, climbed up here for safety, and then I guess you knocked me out and here I am,” he said, trying to sound as friendly as possible.  _I wish I could move my arms…it’s hard to pull off the whole disarmingly-friendly act without the arms._

“You _led people here_?” the man asked, disbelief and something like fear in his voice.

Zack shook his head.  _This isn’t going well._ “Okay, Spike—”

“It’s Cloud,” he said flatly.

Zack found himself speechless for a moment.  “What kind of name is _Cloud?_ ”

The other man looked equally dumbstruck.  “Well, what kind of name is Zack?”

 _Is he serious?_  “A _normal_ one!  Haven’t you ever, like, met people before?!”

Cloud looked way more defensive than Zack had anticipated.  “That’s not the point,” he said dismissively.  “The point is that you came up here with the intent to kidnap me—”

“What?  No, I came up here because I had…”  _Shit!  Where’d it go?_ “The satchel!  Where is it?!”

Cloud smirked and crossed his arms.  “It’s hidden,” he said.  “You’ll never be able to find it.”

Zack looked around.  _If I were a blond hermit, where would I hide something valuable?  Hmm…_ “It’s under that pillow, isn’t it?” he asked, tilting his head towards the cushion in the windowsill.

“Nope.  And it’s not in any of the pots either, so don’t bother,” Cloud said, circling him with the knife.  “What do you want with my eyes, Zack Hewley?  To take them?  Sell them, and me along with them?”

 _What the hell?_ “That doesn’t even make any sense!  Look, Cloud, the only thing I want to do with your eyes is maybe stare at them a bit.  They’re pretty cool-looking.”

Cloud stopped moving.  “Wait…you don’t want my eyes?”

“Why on Gaia would I want your eyes?  They’re just eyes.  Seriously.  I was being chased, climbed what looked like an abandoned tower, thought maybe if there was some gold up here my friends wouldn’t be as mad at me for being late for lunch, end of story.  That’s it,” Zack said honestly.  “I promise.”

“You’re…telling the truth?”  He said it as if the truth was something he wasn’t used to hearing.

“Yes!” Zack said, nodding for emphasis.

Cloud frowned.  “But you still intended to steal from me.”

“Well…yes.  I’m kind of a thief.  It’s what I do,” he said, trying to sound more regretful than he really was.

Then a _chameleon_ of all things climbed out of Cloud’s pocket and crawled up the knife to stare at him.  It looked up and down, then back at Cloud and squinted.  _I don’t even know what to think here.  This day has already pretty much topped every other in terms of weirdness._

Man and chameleon walked away for a moment, and it sounded as if they were having a discussion.  _He really needs to get out more if he’s having a conversation with a reptile._

Then Cloud put the knife down, finally, and turned back to face him.  “I’ll return your satchel to you, but you have to give me something in return.”

“A deal, huh?” _Well…I’m essentially broke right now.  I don’t have any special skills that don’t involve breaking the law…except maybe swordfighting, but this guy doesn’t look like he needs help with that.  He’s pretty cute, actually._ “I got it!  How about one date?” Zack asked, smiling for emphasis.  _I can’t do the part with my hands with them tied up, though._

Cloud narrowed his eyes.  “Why the hell would I exchange what’s obviously valuable jewelry for a piece of fruit?”

 _It never works without the hands._ “Are you serious?” Zack deadpanned, raising his eyebrows.  “You don’t know what a date is.”

“You mean…it’s not a fruit?” Cloud asked hesitantly.

“Well it is a fruit, but it’s also a thing you do with someone,” Zack explained.  _Gaia, this is more awkward than it was supposed to be._ “Like…you find someone cute, grab a bite to eat, have some fun, and then go home.”

“I’m not cute,” Cloud said, frowning.  “But alright.  Zack Hewley, I’ll go on a date with you, or whatever.  Hold on a second.”

“It’s not like I can do anything else tied up.”  _I can still pull this off.  I can still get to the rendezvous point before it’s too late._

Cloud moved into a different room and came back with what looked like a sketchbook.  He opened to a page about halfway through and held it up in front of Zack.  “Do you know what these are?” he asked.

“Isn’t that the lantern thing they do for the prince?”

“So they’re lanterns…” Cloud said, looking out towards the window he came in through.  “I knew they weren’t stars.”

 _Who the hell told him they were stars?  The king and queen make such a huge fuss of it every single year, it’s impossible to not know._ Cloud didn’t say anything for a moment, then shook his head and took a deep breath.  “Tomorrow night, these lanterns will light up the night sky.  You’ll take me there, and we’ll do…date stuff, I guess, and then you’ll bring me back here and I’ll return your satchel.  That’s the deal.”

 _I guess a festival is a good place for a date, but…shit, we can’t go there._   Zack sighed.  “Sorry, I can’t do that,” he said.  “I’m a wanted man right now, and it won’t exactly be safe to go frolic about at the festival they throw for their missing prince _whose_ _crown I just made off with_.”

“So that weird piece of jewelry you had is a…crown,” Cloud said, as if he’d never heard the word before.

“Um…yes?”  _Spike, your lack of vocabulary is kind of suspicious._

“Well, you being a criminal doesn’t matter,” Cloud said, looking at his hands.  “That’s still the deal.  I’m not changing it.”

“We’ll get arrested.  Thrown in prison, possibly executed…I’m not sure you understand how dangerous this is for you,” Zack said, trying to emphasize the risk of death.  “Seriously, let’s go anywhere else.”

“Believe me, I know how dangerous this is for me,” Cloud said darkly.  “You’re taking me to the lanterns or you’re not getting that crown back.”

Zack sighed again.  _Well, a thief is nothing if not an adventurer.  Danger’s just a part of the deal._ “Can you defend yourself?  I guarantee we’re going to get in trouble at some point.”

“I mean…maybe?” Cloud said, running a hand through his hair.  “My mother says I’m still too weak…but it wasn’t too difficult to knock you out, so maybe not.”

“Okay, you’re definitely not weak,” Zack said, looking at Cloud’s arms again.  _Not weak in the slightest._   “What did you even hit me with, anyway?”

“A frying pan…I couldn’t get to the swords in time.”

“You have _swords_ up here?” Zack asked, eyes widening.

“My brother used to train with them a lot, before he left home.”

 _Fair enough._   “Cool, then you can take one and we’ll be all set,” Zack said.  “So…can you untie me now?”

Cloud nodded and picked up the knife, freeing Zack’s ankles first, and then his wrists.  Zack stood up and stretched, enjoying the free feeling in his arms again and doing a squat for good measure.  “Oh hey, I have a question,” he said.

“Mmhmm?”

“So if you knocked me out, how come my head doesn’t hurt?  I don’t pass out easily…I should probably be concussed, but I feel fine,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck.

Cloud didn’t respond immediately, and it was pretty obvious that he was hiding something.  “You see…um…it doesn’t matter,” he got out.  “I made sure you weren’t too hurt.”  _Well Spike, that doesn’t make any sense, but I won’t pry.  I definitely don’t mind avoiding a concussion._

Zack crouched down and opened one of the kitchen cabinets.  “You got anything to eat, Cloud?  I’m starving.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, the plot is finally starting to pick up! This chapter was fun to write, since that first half isn't based on the movie /at all/ and since I figured the second half would go somewhat differently with Zack and Cloud vs. Flynn and Rapunzel.
> 
> Coming up next, Zack and Cloud leave the tower and head to the rendezvous point for lunch, although it's late enough in the morning that they're definitely not gonna make it in time. I won't reveal the name of the pub yet, but it's not hard to guess. Not sure what I'm gonna do instead of "I've Got a Dream," though...we'll see.


	5. Under the Summer Sky

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally picking this one up again after three months...I decided having five in-progress longfics was too many, and word-count wise, this is the closest one to being done, so expect much more frequent updates on this now.

The cookie jar was full of snickerdoodles, and good ones, too.  They tickled a place in Zack’s memory, and he let it surface as the taste of cinnamon filled his mouth.  _Breakfast in the courtyard, the cook’s daughter at my side…we had milk moustaches and everything smelled of worn leather.  She promised to study in Guardia with me one day, even though their prince had vanished…well, nothing ever happens the way you want it to.  Not then, not now._

“Hey…Cloud, you wouldn’t happen to know a good way to get down, would you?” Zack asked, munching on his fourth cookie and trying to shake the sad memory.  “Because that would be fantastic.”

“If I did, I wouldn’t be relying on you to get me out,” Cloud answered.  “I _can_ tell you that window is the only exit, though.”

Zack thought over that for a second.  _I could climb back down, easy.  But Cloud…he’s got the upper body strength, to be sure, but the chances of him falling and killing himself are way too high…and if he dies, I’m never getting that crown back.  I’ll check anyway._   “How do you feel about climbing down the wall?”

“Uh…well…”  _Looks like we’re on the same page, then._ Cloud cleared his throat and walked to the window, peering out with determined eyes.  “If that’s the only way, I’ll do it,” he said.  “But…I’ve never tried…if I got hurt…I don’t know if it would work…never mind.”

“You don’t have to sound so self-conscious over it, it’s not like you’ve done this before,” Zack said, raising an eyebrow.

“I’m not heartbroken,” Cloud said, back to the stoic, determined man he was ten seconds ago.  “I just don’t want my mother to come home and find my dead body at the base of the tower, is all.”

“We’ll find another way,” Zack said, thinking hard.  _The only exit’s the window…if I had some rope, I could tie it to something sturdy and lower us down.  There’s gotta be some in here…his mother probably doesn’t stick daggers in the bricks._   “You happen to have any rope?”

“No…” Cloud said.  “I have some pretty tough string, though.”

Zack laughed, and tried to keep as much mocking out of the tone as he could.  “Tough enough to support the weight of two fully-grown men?”  The silence that met his question spoke for itself.  “Yeah, that’s what I thought.”

He felt around the bottom of the cookie jar and found nothing but crumbs, jumping when Cloud almost put the lid back on over his hand.  “Do you think you could carry my weight?” Cloud asked, sounding like he was almost scared to ask the question.

“What, are you made of lead or something?” Zack asked, relieved when he didn’t ask what lead was.  “I don’t think I’m gonna have a problem, Spike.”

“It’s Cloud.”

“It’s a _nickname_ , okay?” Zack said, exasperated.  “I call you Spike cause of the hair, and some of my friends call me ‘puppy’ because, according to them, I act like one.”

Cloud bit his lip and nodded, the gesture more natural on him than anything else Zack had seen him do.  _Maybe he’s more normal than I thought…just takes a while to get him warmed up._ “…I see it,” he said, giving what looked like a genuine smile at Zack’s scandalized expression.

_Wow…he’s got…a really nice smile._ “I...well…um…”

His stammering went on longer than was comfortable, and Cloud noticed.  “You okay?”

Zack shook his head, shrugging off the distraction.  “Yeah, um, how do you propose we get down again?  I might’ve missed it.”

Cloud looked down and cleared his throat.  “Well…I’ve got a belt in my closet that’s a few sizes too big.  It could probably fit around both our waists, and I could just…hang on, or something.  Try not to fall and break my neck.”

“It’ll be risky, but you know what – that just might work,” Zack said, standing up and dusting the cookie crumbs off his hands.   _Not like I’ve got any other ideas._  “Let’s do it.”

He was left to get a good look around the kitchen for the first time as Cloud walked off to grab it, and Zack couldn’t help but wonder what kind of family this was as he took stock of the plainness of the room.  Barely any color, no decoration, far fewer dishes than he expected.  _It looks for all the world like he’s the only one who lives here…his mom doesn’t have any paintings of her family?  Okay, I guess it’s only richer folks who do that, but she can’t be dirt poor if she’s keeping an able-bodied son locked away in a tower…why’s he been stuck here, anyway?  It’s fishy…and it’s none of my business._

Zack moved into the room he’d climbed up into and saw a bookshelf, full of thing with worn-out old bindings that looked like they’d been read a thousand times.  _Some good ol’ adventure stories, cookbooks, plant and animal life, a dictionary…hmm, a lot of these words are overwritten…_

“I got it…what are you doing?” Cloud asked, defensive.  The two broadswords strapped to his back didn’t help Zack’s sudden panic either.  _That makes getting caught in the act twice today._

“Oh, I’m sorry, I was just—my bad,” Zack said, putting down the book.  “I was just…”

“You didn’t look in my sketchbook, did you?”

“Um…no,” Zack said, rubbing the back of his neck.  “You draw?”

Cloud nodded, pensive.  “Not much else to do…hold on a sec,” he said, running back to his room.  _There’s nothing about the history of the kingdom up here…dear gods, this is gonna be an interesting trip.  And painful.  For me._   “Do you recognize any of the people in here?” Cloud asked when he returned, opening the sketchbook to roughly the middle.

A man with a weapon on his arm, a woman with a short skirt and suspenders, Cloud himself in some sort of combat uniform… “I don’t recognize any of this,” Zack said, perplexed.  “Though…that pink dress…I think I’ve seen the princess wear something a bit like it, once or twice.  I’m not usually in town when she is, though.  Repeat criminal offender and all that.”

“Hmm…”

“What is all this, anyway?” Zack asked, looking at the sketches.  “They’re super detailed…except for the faces, that is.”  _And super weird.  Other than the pink dress, I’ve never seen clothes like those…anywhere, really._

Cloud sighed in a way that made it very clear he didn’t want to talk about it, but he answered the question anyway.  “I have…dreams, about these people,” he said.  “It’s hard to explain…”

“You don’t need to try,” Zack said, marveling at how every question Cloud answered raised another ten.   _You’re the weirdest guy I ever met, and I want to know more..._  “How about we get going?”

He taught Cloud how to ride piggyback and clasped the belt’s buckles over his chest, taking a moment to walk around and get used to the new weight distribution.  “Yeah, I can handle this,” Zack said, swinging one leg over the windowsill before taking out his daggers.  “Next stop: ground level.”

“Oh gods,” Cloud said, looking down.  “I’m really doing this…”

“Wow…come on, Spike, don’t chocobo out on me now,” Zack said, taking in the distance between them and the ground with as much fearlessness as he could muster.  _I want that crown back._ “You gotta see those lanterns, right?”

“Lanterns…dreams…” Cloud muttered to himself, as Zack lowered them down the tower wall, one grueling brick at a time.  _A few hours’ run, climbing up this damn thing, a concussion, and then going back down with three times as much weight…damn, I’m going to be sore tomorrow.  Really sore._

There was a brief moment in which Zack’s left dagger lost purchase on the bricks and he swayed out, nearly letting go of his other hand when Cloud reacted by squeezing with his legs, knocking the air from his lungs.  “Take it easy, man,” Zack said, doing exactly the opposite as he tried to regain his hold on the left knife.  _Gods...damn it…get over here…there!_

“I can’t…I feel sick,” Cloud said, burying his forehead in the shoulder of Zack’s vest.  “The swaying…”

“Hey, we’re almost there,” Zack lied.  “Okay, we’re about halfway there.  Just hold on a few more minutes, alright?  You’re gonna be just fine.”

A few more minutes of sweaty palms and aching muscles and Zack gave up, turning around and jumping what he estimated was the last five feet of the climb.

It was actually more like ten feet, which Zack realized immediately with a stab of regret, and no amount of anticipation made the thud when he hit the ground less painful.  _Well, crap._

“Good gods, are you okay?” Cloud asked above him, reaching a hand under their bodies to undo the belt clasps.  “I…I can…”

“I’m fine,” Zack said, wincing when every vertebrae in his back cracked as he stood up.  “I’m gonna be in so much pain tomorrow, but I’m fine now…let’s head out.”  He stretched his arms behind his back and made his way for the cavern, but paused when he realized Cloud wasn’t following.  “Come on, Spike, it’s a long way to the castle!”

“Just give me a minute…” Cloud said, crouching down and running his fingers through the grass.  “It’s so much softer than I thought it would be…and warmer…”  The wonder on his face broke a dam in Zack’s heart, and he looked away, fighting with himself.

When Zack was younger, before he’d become the Hewley he was now, he’d been the type of kid who would protect anyone who looked like they needed it.  And he did – it cost him his naiveté, his big heart, and almost his life.  So when he’d had to grow up…when he started thieving and reselling and hanging around with the tougher sort…he changed.  He had to, if he wanted to survive.  Criminals couldn’t have soft spots and expect to stay free for very long, so Zack had promised himself never to grow attached to anyone besides his new brothers, never to care about anyone too deeply.  Pretending was usually good enough, in this world.

It was that moment that Zack broke his promise, realizing with a rush of compassion that he wasn’t going to be able to abandon Cloud so easily.  _You’re just starting out…it’s a tough world out there, and I’m not exactly the safest person to be with, but…I’ll get you through it.  And when you realize you don’t want to go home, that you want to make a new life for yourself as a free man, I’ll help.  The best I can._

“Zack…do you think I’m doing the right thing?” Cloud asked, doubtful.  “That it’s okay for me to just go against my mother like this?”

His epiphany was still washing over him, and took a minute for Zack to register he’d been asked a question.  “Yes,” he said.  “And…I don’t know your life, okay?  But if it were my par…if someone taking care of me was trying to cut me off from the whole world, I think I’d go crazy.”

“Isn’t it…you, know, dangerous?”  The _for me_ was left unsaid, and Zack couldn’t help but wonder what the guy was so nervous about.

“Once you get in the swing of things, you’ll be fine,” Zack said, taking the opportunity to lift one of the two swords off of Cloud’s back and equipping it himself.  “Are there a lot of people who might want to take advantage of you because you don’t know a whole lot about how the world works?  Yeah.  But there are also a lot of people who would feel compassion and try to help…”  _And I just switched camps, so…that happened._

“Thanks, Zack,” Cloud said, and the eye contact between them lasted just a moment too long.  “Um…where are we going?”

 

\---------------------------------

 

It took most of Cloud’s concentration just to stay determined on his goal.  _The lanterns.  I’m seeing the lanterns.  I’m doing this for me, not for Mother.  I’m living my own life for once._

A lot of the plants in this forest were familiar to him, being either in one of the books he read almost weekly, or a regular ingredient in the stews he lived off of.  It was a surprisingly homey sensation – Cloud had never seen so much green in one place, never been in a forest in his life, but he knew these plants.  “Where exactly are we going?”

“The Cuddly Chocobo, right in the middle of the woods,” Zack answered, a spring in his step.  “My brothers would have been waiting, but…you kind of wrecked my schedule a bit, Spike.  Not that I mind…they’d probably be a bit peeved that I don’t have the crown, and if they’ve left already, I don’t have to deal with it for a while.”

_They’re after money…I better not let anyone even think I might have magic.  It’s a dangerous world out here…_ “Well, just send them my way and I’ll give them a piece of my mind,” Cloud said, cracking his knuckles.

Zack laughed...not the reaction he was expecting.  “This is gonna sound really weird, coming from me, but…violence actually isn’t the best way to solve problems.  It’s all about who you know, what you say, and how you act when weapons aren’t involved.”

“So…?”

“So if anyone asks you questions you don’t like, talk your way out of it instead of fighting.  It’s way easier,” Zack said with a smile.  _Maybe for you…I…don’t have much practice talking to people._   “ _Especially_ where we’re going – the Cuddly Chocobo is kind of a haunt for people like me, so everyone’s gonna have weapons they know how to use.  Even so…I know you’re new at this, so I’ll do all the talking, huh?”

_I hardly know anything about you, but…maybe it’s best if I just don’t say anything._   The sign, deceptively quaint, was easily visible once they found the path out of the forest, and Zack stopped to smile.  “Man, I miss this place.”

“Do they have really good food or something?” Cloud asked.

“Nope, it’s totally mediocre!  But if I made it here, that means I had a successful mission, eh Cloud?” he said, poking his ribs and making him jump.  “Honestly, with the day I’ve had, I’m just glad I’m all in one piece.”  _That fall wasn’t trivial…maybe I can heal him later, once he’s asleep.  But then I’d have to come up with another excuse in the morning…and I can’t pretend like there’s super medicine in the tower if we’re not there._

Cloud followed closely as Zack opened the bar doors, and watched as his guide grinned widely in the face of several very annoyed-looking thugs.  _I’ve never seen so many people in one place, even in books…guess I better get used to it.  The real world’s got more than two people living in it.  And this is a den of thieves…_

“The hell you doin’ here, Hewley?!” a dark-skinned man asked, pointing the hook that replaced his right hand in the air.  “Damn fool…yo’ friends left hours ago, wonderin’ where the hell you went.”

“Had to take a little detour,” Zack said, chipper as can be.  “D’you happen to know where they are now?”

“Unlike you, those two don’t broadcast their evenin’ plans to the whole kingdom, yo,” a different man said, red hair striking against the bar’s grim colors.  “I don’t have a damn clue where they ran off an’ hid.”

“You’re a wanted man, Hewley,” a third guy said, wide-brimmed hat covering his eyes.  “There’d be good money in turnin’ you into the Royal Guard.”

“Ladies, ladies, there’s no need for that,” Zack said, holding his hands out in surrender.  “You guys know this is my dream, I need to—”

“Yeah, yeah, your lifelong revenge will get paid for by the crown, or whatever,” someone in the shadows said, a woman if Cloud judged the timbre of their voice correctly.  “Did Angeal ever get it through that thick skull of his that _just_ maybe, the royal family already tried finding a cure with cash?  There’s nothing out there that can heal his friend.”

_So that’s why…someone needs healing?  Then…no, I can’t risk it.  Just stay quiet._   “What?!  You’re telling me we went through all that for nothing?!” Zack said, obviously disappointed.  “Geal’s gonna be heartbroken…”

“Not as heartbroken as when ‘e finds out you got taken in,” the first man said.  “Rude, call the Guard.”

“Yes, sir,” the third man said, leaving his hat behind as he left the bar.  _Royal Guard?  I don’t want to get arrested now…we’re not even in town yet._

Zack scanned the bar, looking for support and finding none.  “Barret, man, cut me some slack,” he said.  “D’you really want to see me behind bars?”

“No, but that money’s gonna fund Marlene’s education,” Barret said.  “Nothin’ personal…this is just somethin’ I gotta do.  For her.”

Cloud nudged Zack and he moved aside, giving him room to talk.  “Something you gotta do, huh?”

His ears were met with a chorus of “who’re you’s” and “who’s this kid’s” and “what’s he got to say’s,” and Cloud cleared his throat, feeling more nervous than he ever had in his life, _including_ the climb down the tower.  _It’s about what you say, and how you act when weapons aren’t involved._   “I’ve been waiting my whole life to see the lanterns the king and queen let go tomorrow, and now I finally have a chance to go, so don’t you screw this up for me.  It’s just something I gotta do.  Name your price, I’ll pay it off on my way home.”  _Gaia on a stick, why did I just agree to pay him?_

“Where the hell do you live, yo?” the second man asked over a bottle of what Cloud thought was whiskey.

“Downwind,” Cloud said, narrowing his eyes.

There was a series of glances exchanged between Barret and the other two people who had spoken, and he eventually shook his head with a smirk.  “We’re all gon’ be in deep shit when the guard lady gets here,” he said, “but I’ll show you guys the shortcut outta here.  Don’ go givin’ me any of your money…you gotta follow your dream, just like I gotta make sure Marlene can follow hers.”

“Thanks, Barret,” Zack said, the grateful tone in his voice not going unnoticed.

“Yeah, not you, slick,” Barret said, shoving them behind the bar.  “Your dream’s lame an’ impossible to boot…that guy’s untouchable.  This kid, though…his dream is pretty cool.  Good luck.”

Cloud thanked Barret again and watched as he used one of the taps to open a passage under the counter, damp air and the smell of rain wafting up from below.  “I’ve never been underground before…”

“You’re a weird kid,” Barret said, “but you’re welcome back here anytime.  Without this lug, he’s danger in a tight vest.”

“I’ll be back,” Cloud said.  _If these people do this sort of work for money, or whatever, maybe I can find some work, and then I won’t have to go back home.  To the tower…to lifelong imprisonment.  That’s what it is.  Hell, I’ve made it farther than Mother would ever believe, and nothing bad has happened._

The sound of horseshoes outside the bar brought Cloud back into the present, and Zack pushed him into the passage with clammy hands.  “That’s Tifa.  We gotta go, _now_.”

 

 ---------------------------------

 

“Thank you for the tip, Rude,” Tifa said as she dismounted Nanaki, ignoring the growing soreness in her joints.  _We’re both a bit roughed up still, but still in fine fighting shape._ “I’ll ask one more time: are you _sure_ Hewley was here?  I won’t be pleased if this was a ruse.”

“Surer than the sun rising in the east,” Rude said, and Tifa scowled.

“Stop trying to be poetic,” she said, gripping her spear with the rush of adrenaline she always felt before capturing a criminal.  “The crown will reward you for this, if you’re honest.”

The smell of the bar didn’t go unnoticed, but Tifa worked with their sort so frequently that it didn’t bother her.  Just brought back memories…  “Royal Guard present!  Where is Hewley?”

“Hewley?  Which one?  None of ‘em are here,” Barret said, with a clearly meaningful look in Rude’s direction.

“Don’t start that with me, Wallace, I can tell when you’re lying,” Tifa said, pointing her spear right at his good hand.  “Tell me where he’s hiding.  The youngest one, without the helmet and the big sword.”

“I assure you he’s not here, yo,” Rude’s friend said, the guy who she thought called himself Reno.  “But how ‘bout you bring your fancy horse in here and have him poke around?”

“Fine, I’ll do that,” Tifa said, and Nanaki was at the door before she even raised her fingers to whistle.

Her companion pawed his way around the room, disturbing wrongdoers and turning over chairs in what she was sure would be a successful search for Hewley’s scent.  There were groans of displeasure as people’s drinks were disturbed, and Tifa scowled.  “Just be grateful I’m not here to arrest all of you…today.”

Barret sighed.  “Tifa…don’t forget where you came from.  Just remember that.”

“I don’t miss it, Barret,” she said resolutely.  “I can have all the adventure I want now, and I don’t have to break the law…I’ve left all that behind now.  My fight is for justice, for the crown.”

“Yeah, sure, I bet it’s _really_ cause you’re pining after a girl you can never have,” Elena said, and Tifa closed her eyes, trying very hard to control her reaction.

“I am not – _pining_ – after the princess,” she said, voice terse.  “I’m her friend, that’s all.”

“Ha, you literally just admitted it’s her, yo,” Reno said with a snicker.  “Joke’s on you.”

“No, the joke’s on _you_ , because that doesn’t make any sense!” Tifa said, and an impatient whinny caught everyone’s attention, eyes turned towards the counter.  “Nanaki, did you find something?”

A growl and a slip of the paw and the floor shuddered, a passageway opening into the ground below the bar.  “Excellent…good job, Nanaki,” she said.  “I’ll wait outside until reinforcements arrive, then the chase is on.”  _You won’t escape me this time, Zack Hewley.  One man on foot is no match for the Royal Guard, even spread thin._

“Too chocobo to hang with the old crowd?” Elena taunted.  “You’re too far above us now to associate with such _lowlifes_.”

“Everyone can go on to do great things,” Tifa said, ignoring the jibe.  “All you need is an opportunity, and the courage to take it.”

“Fat chance any of us will get picked up for law enforcement like you did, Lockhart,” Reno said, looking into his whiskey.  “Opportunity…that’s somethin’ I’d love to have.  But there ain’t no jobs for people like us out there that don’t require beatin’ people up and stealin’ things, so…that’s just the way it is, yo.”

“It doesn’t have to be,” Tifa said.

“But it is,” Barret countered.  “An’ until the king and queen get their heads outta their asses and get back to workin’ for the people instead of for their dead son, it ain’t never gonna change.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That took **way** less time to actually write than I anticipated...I guess the chapters on this fic are shorter than what I usually do, and considering just how much I wrote between May and now, I guess my speed's up. Or something. I don't know.
> 
> The next chapter will catch up with Angeal, Kunsel, and Jenova, then follow the boys as they try to get closer to town without getting caught...expect it in a few days, maybe?


	6. Escape Route

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When I said to expect more frequent chapter updates, I freaking meant it.

Reno wasn’t sure if his splitting headache was from the alcohol or the shouting the five guards had done while they were trying to squeeze into the getaway passage.  A bunch of pretentious losers, in his opinion.  The bar hadn’t taken long to return to its usual atmosphere, though, and Reno was just glad he wasn’t the idiot who ran off with the crown.   _I can’t believe Barret didn’t make him pay…just cause that guy wanted to go to the festival?  Dreams are for kids…ha, I guess it’s kid he’s fightin’ for._

A scratch of long nails on the counter made Reno roll his eyes.  _This’ll be entertaining._ “Hey Barret, how about I give you some money?” Elena asked, smirking.

Reno lounged back in his chair and watched, taking a leisurely sip of his drink.

“Do I even wanna know what for?” the barkeep asked, crouched behind the counter to repair the damage Lockhart and her cronies left behind.

She snickered.  “I’ll wager you…two hundred gil that those other Hewley guys are gonna walk in within the hour,” she said, counting the coins in her pocket.

_Ooh, bad move, sweetheart._ Barret scowled.  “I don’t need no pity money,” he said.  “They come in all the damn time.”

“Lena, you’re bein’ insensitive,” Reno said.

“Boys, that’s not the best part,” Elena said.  “I’ll give you…a _thousand_ gil, if when Sir Honor gets here, if you keep your mouth shut about what I said about the cure for his friend.”

_Damn…that’s cruel._ “No way,” Barret said, hammering a nail into the floorboards.  “Angeal’s a good guy, he’d go fix things if he knew.  I’m not gonna risk his freedom…even if it makes my life harder.”

“Come on, he’ll be fine!” Elena said.  “Even if he does get caught, the princess is too soft to _do_ anything about it, and the queen’s clocked out.  Humor me, Barret.”

“…Two thousand gil.”  _A harsh bargain, yo._

Elena snorted.  “That’s humoring me too much.”

Reno caught a glint of Angeal’s family sword outside the window and sighed.  “Make it fifteen hundred and be done with it, yo.  Hewley’s already here.”

Whether or not Barret would make them all look bad or keep it honest was still up in the air, and Kunsel threw a large wad of paper into the fire as he walked in.  “We’re back,” he said, irritated.

“What were those?” Reno asked, nodding his head at the fire.  “Love letters from your great aunt Nelly?”

“Shut up, they were wanted posters,” Kunsel said.  “Most of them of Angeal, too…”

The man in question cleared his throat, unfazed by the news.  _You can’t freak out over a few arrest warrants when your whole job is to break the law, Kuns_.  “The ones of Zack were pretty great, though.”

“The guards can’t get his scar right, it’s hilarious,” Kunsel said, watching the posters burn.

“I wouldn’t call havin’ my face plastered all over the kingdom _hilarious_ ,” Barret grumbled, finally standing up.  The cracks of his joints made Reno wince.

Angeal shifted his stance.  “Did Zack ever come by here?”

The nods around the room answered him, and Barret poured himself a beer.  “He was here, all right.  And so was Lockhart.”

“You’ve got to me kidding me,” Kunsel said, rubbing the lower half of his face.  “Did he get arrested?”

“What kinda friend d’you take me for?” Barret said, very gracefully choosing to sugarcoat how he’d treated the youngest Hewley brother.  “’Course not.  I showed ‘im the way out.  He...and that new friend of his.”

“…New friend?” Angeal asked, putting his hands on his hips.  _Guess Other Spike wasn’t a part of this deal…_

Reno coughed.  “There was this weird blond guy with him, yo.  Seemed he’d made a deal with your man for something…was the crown a part of it, Lena?”  _She wants to cause trouble?  I’m game._

“Yes, I think so,” Elena said, playing along.

“Blondie was headed towards the festival,” Barret said.  “Y’all can catch up with Zack there, probably.  If he makes it.”

“What do you mean, ‘if he makes it?’  Is the passage open?” Kunsel asked, ripping another poster from the wall and throwing it in the fire.  “You’re sure working on something messy back there…”

“It’s open, but I wouldn’t go through it if I were you,” Barret said, cracking the knuckles of his good hand on the hook.  “Lockhart’s horse found the passage an’ she’s…”

“Tenacious,” Rude offered, finally speaking up.

“Ruthless,” Reno said.

“Delusional,” Elena grumbled.

Barret flicked a pebble at her and she scowled.  _Come on, Lena, you know that girl grew up with him._   “Tifa can be a piece o’ work, but she ain’t delusional,” he said.  “She just needs…”

“Some perspective,” Rude said.

“A life,” Reno said.  “Maybe a girlfriend that ain’t royalty, yo.”

“A good kick in the arse,” Elena said, finishing her drink.  “That woman, I swear…”

“Who are y’all, the peanut gallery?  Shut up an’ let me do the talkin’,” Barret said, looking back at Angeal.  “Anyway, that’s how it is.  Zack and Blondie are headed to town the hard way, so y’all can head there the easy way an’ meet up.”

“Thanks, Barret,” Angeal said.  “Until next time.”

“Til next time,” Barret agreed, pocketing the coins Elena slid over to him as the two thieves left.   _He went through with it…Hewley Sr. is not gonna be happy when he finds out.  But that’s just the business, yo.  We all gotta put food on the table somehow._

Reno’s spot at the bar gave him a good view of what was going on outside, and it was an understatement to say he didn’t like what he saw.  A middle-aged woman in a maroon cloak, hair almost silver in the sunlight.  _That woman…she’s trouble, yo._   He moved as close to the window as he could while still looking natural and trained his ears on the conversation outside.

“So that guy who was with Zack…you think he’s some sort of royal agent?” Angeal asked.  “I could see him falling for that kind of trap…”

“How would I know?  It _is_ fishy…they made it sound like he’s luring Zack straight into the Royal Guard’s clutches for…something.”  _I wouldn’t be so loose-lipped with that crazy lady around, yo._

“Wow, Kunsel.  That’s very helpful.  You know what’s less obvious?  The sky being blue.”

“Whoa, man, cool it,” Kunsel said.  “I know you’re worried about the money, and about Zack—“

“Zack’s a grown man, he can take care of himself,” Angeal said.  “I’m worried about—“

“Genesis, yeah, we’ve all heard it a thousand times,” Kunsel said.  “I’m sorry, but I still can’t believe it – the most risky job we ever pulled, and it’s not even for money.  What kind of thieves are we?”

“Midgar’s king will _reward_ us beyond our wildest dreams if we can save his friend,” Angeal said under his breath.  “This job isn’t a loss to us, Kunsel.”

“ _Midgar’s king_ is a witch’s puppet and I don’t want anything he has to offer,” Kunsel said.  “I’m only doing this for you.  And I think Zack would agree with me on this.  You know how he feels about Midgar.”

Angeal groaned, exasperated.  “So what now, then?  Zack’s the one who has the crown in the first place!  There’s not even an option to bail until we find him.”

A chill ran down Reno’s spine, the same way it did every time this woman passed by the bar.  _Gods help them._   “Now, boys…you listen to me.”

“Who the hell are you?” Kunsel asked.  “If you’ve been eavesdropping—“

“This concerns me as much as it concerns you,” she said.  “The man who’s with your friend – he has a power worth a thousand crowns, _and_ the ability to heal King Sephiroth’s friend.  Go after him, take him to Midgar, and obtain all your heart’s desires.”  _Huh, she usually beats around the bush a bit more._

“…That sounds too good to be true,” Angeal said.  “Why should we even hear a word of what you have to say?  And even if you’re being honest – I’m an honest man, too.  If Zack’s new companion can save Genesis, I’ll return the crown to its place in the throne room first, and accept whatever fate befalls me.”

_Stubborn as always.  That Hewley honor’s gonna bite you in the ass if you keep puttin’ it before everything else._ “It’s not only your decision to make, ‘Geal.  I’m on board with this new plan,” Kunsel said.  “Riches beyond belief?  Healing to our good man Genesis?  Hopefully, a way to avoid prison?  Sounds fine to me.”

“Follow my lead, and I’ll make sure you both remain free men,” she said, cooler than frost.  _And twice as mean, in my experience._

“So what do we do?”

“I’ll find them, but when I tell you where to go, I want you to take Zack’s companion to Midgar,” she said.

“We would’ve done that anyway, if he has powers as you said.”  Angeal sounded in control, but Reno knew this woman was playing him like a fiddle.  “Genesis and…the reward both lie that way.”

“Well, I’m glad we’re on the same page,” the woman said, voice sickly sweet.

“Excuse me, why can’t you just bring them to us if you’re locating them already?” Kunsel asked.

“Zack’s companion does not...trust me,” she said.  _Good for him…only a fool’d trust the likes of you_.  “If I tell him to go to Midgar, he might do it out of his own interest.  Or he might run the other direction.”

“I’m not interested in kidnapping,” Angeal said.  “If that’s what you want, talk to the guys inside.”  _Ouch.  It’s true, though._

“This isn’t a _kidnapping_ ,” the woman said, and Reno had to try very hard not to laugh.  _If she ain’t lookin’ to wipe every trace of that spiky kid from the kingdom, I’m a moogle._ “He simply doesn’t trust me.  He has a good soul, though, and he’ll help if you’re honest about it.  You _are_ honest men…right?”  _She damn cornered them._

Reno tuned the rest of the conversation out, lost in his own thoughts.  _Yeah, those guys are goners._

 

\--------------------------------- 

 

_We should have been followed by now…alone or not, we need to pick up the pace._ Zack paused again, waiting to hear the sound of echoing footsteps.  “Cloud?”

Turning around, he scratched the back of his neck while he waited for his friend to process whatever thought he was having.  “Hey, Spike.  There’ll be way cooler things to look at once we get into town, I promise…but we need to _make it into town_ for that to happen.”

“Oh…I’m sorry,” Cloud said, looking up with that piercing gaze of his, torchlight reflecting off his irises, like, well…the lanterns that brought them here in the first place.  Zack’s breath caught in his throat at the sight of it, and he did his best to cover it up with a yawn.

“It’s alright,” Zack said, looking back at the path they’d already walked down.  “But…I could’ve sworn Tifa followed us.  She could be here any minute…should’ve been here a while ago, actually.”

“Is she dangerous?  Will we have to fight her?” Cloud asked, in a tone that suggested he thought they would’ve encountered danger long before this point.  _I can’t even imagine what must have kept you in that tower all this time…I…do I even want to know?_

“First question: yes, absolutely.  Second question…maybe?” Zack checked the hilt of his sword with his free hand and sighed.  “I hate to admit it, and the Royal Guard’s a pain in the ass, but they’re just doing their jobs.  Obnoxiously.  Vigorously.”

“So…you don’t think we should fight if she catches up?” Cloud asked, obviously confused. 

_You grew up with a room full of swords, and totally cut off from the outside world…your mother’s really messed up, isn’t she?_   “Of course we’ll fight.  But there’s a difference between knocking her out or cutting her off to defend ourselves and being a, well…a violent criminal,” Zack said, realizing how hypocritical the statement was, coming from him.

Cloud pursed his lips in thought.  “So…you steal things, but you try not to be…I don’t know, the bad guy?”

“It’s not as hard as you’re making it sound,” Zack said, shaking his head _._   “I just don’t hurt people unless _not_ doing it will get me in prison.  And besides…I’d rather just outrun Tifa than have to hear her preach about justice and morality for the thousandth time this summer.”

“Outrun…” Cloud looked downcast.  “I don’t know if I can keep up for very long…you’re kind of great at that sort of thing.”  _…A compliment?_

“Well, how about an out-brisk walk?” Zack asked, urging Cloud forward.  “We don’t have to run if you don’t want to.  At least, not as long as they’re not on our tails.”

“I’ll just…I’m worried about zoning out,” Cloud admitted.  “I have a lot on my mind…”

“I bet you do,” Zack said, voice softer than he intended.  Or maybe it was intentional.  He wasn’t sure.  “It’s a big world, and you’re just seeing it all for the first time...you know what?  Take my hand.”  _What am I saying?_

Cloud frowned.  “What?”

_Don’t say it again!_ “You know, hold my hand,” Zack said.  _Oh my gods…I just said it again_.  “That way, if you start daydreaming, you won’t slow us down.”

With a breath and a light blush that was unmistakable even in the dark passage, Cloud wound their fingers together, staying quiet except for the sound of his breathing, and Zack realized what he’d just done.  _Wow…um…I’m having feelings?  Warm and fuzzy feelings?  This is bad, I can’t…I can’t go falling for a socially stunted guy I found in a tower this morning.  It sounds even worse when I put it that way.  Excellent._

“Zack.”  _I guess I did technically ask him out on a date…that’s probably why he blushed.  Yeah, it’s not like he also feels warm and fuzzy.  Or that he agreed to hold my hand.  He just feels awkward, because I made it awkward.  Yeah, that’s it._ Fingers snapped in front of his face.  “Zack.”

“Uh, what?” Zack asked, trying to sound casual.

“You were the one zoning out this time,” Cloud said, that genuine smile on his face again.  _Oh no._

Zack cleared the lump out of his throat and tried to put the lightheartedness back in his step, but the atmosphere in the passage was just not having it.  “So, Cloud, while we’re here…tell me about yourself.”

“…Like what?”

“I don’t know…your dreams?  Not the ones you get when you sleep, but…the things you want to do with your life.  Beyond seeing the lanterns,” Zack said, flinching when Cait Sith popped out from the back of Cloud’s tunic to give him the stink-eye.  _The chameleon knows.  He knows what’s going on.  Gods, why._   “He’s…glaring at me.”

“Cait, stop it,” Cloud said, and the chameleon narrowed its eyes one more time before retreating.  “Well…I guess I always wanted to follow in my brother’s footsteps, ever since I was little.”

“Brother?”  _That’s not how it usually goes for boys..._

“I never had a father,” Cloud clarified.  “It was just me, Mother, and my brother…he left home to make a name for himself, and I spent so long trying to be just like him…it was so pointless, I can never fill those shoes, and honestly?  It’s kind of liberating.  So now…”

Cloud didn’t finish his sentence, and Zack had to wonder.  _I don’t know…is it better to walk the path someone else made for you?  Or to force your own way through life?  I never had the choice, but if I did…what would I do?_ “Now…?”

Cloud squeezed his hand as he coughed, and Zack couldn’t tell if it was a reflex or on purpose.  “I think…I haven’t seen my brother in sixteen years.  I’m five years older now than he was when he left…it’s about time I learn to be my own person, and make what _I_ think are the right choices, not what someone else does or doesn’t,” he said.

_…Wow._ “Cloud, you’re…hold on.”  _The hell is that?_

The sound of galloping horses, so sudden they they must have been being followed for a while now.  And the battle cry of one very enthusiastic royal guard and a few less energetic other guards, loud enough to get Zack’s blood pumping again.  “Hewley, dead ahead!”

_Oh, flaming Ifrit, we’re in the frying pan now._ “Run!” Zack said, and it was by a stroke of luck that Cloud managed to keep up with the breakneck pace, running forward over the slippery rocks and through winding passages in an attempt to shake Tifa.  Nanaki, the damn horse, seemed to be even faster underground, and Zack heard hooves far too close for comfort more than once.

“What’s she after, anyway?” Cloud gasped as they ran, his words barely reaching Zack’s ears over the tumult.

“The crown, which we don’t have right now,” Zack answered, throwing the torch at Tifa as natural light started to fill the tunnel.  _Almost there…_   “And…we’re dead…if she catches us…and we don’t have it.”

“This…this is all my fault…” Cloud said, panting.  _No, no, you can’t slow down, Spike!  We’re almost there!_ “Just go…I’ll take the blame for what happened.”

“Are you crazy?!” Zack shouted, squinting in the sunlight as they stepped out of the cave.  “We have a date to see the lanterns, remember?!  And I am _not_ leaving a friend behind.  Ready your sword!”

When Tifa, her spear, and the spears of her cohorts joined them on the rocky ledge outside the cave, Zack was expecting a long and arduous battle, the kind he would finish with bloody knuckles and a rush of adrenaline that would make Cloud realize just how impressive a warrior he was.  The kind that would be an excellent primer for their date later, which Zack was starting to think was going to be an actual date, and not just a cover so he could nick the crown and run like he’d originally planned.

Well, _nothing_ ever worked out the way he planned.  In reality, Zack was more of a sideshow.

He almost dropped his own weapon when Cloud knocked out the first guard on Tifa’s right in one punch to the temple, before turning the blade to knock some rocks into his horse’s path, sending them both down under the dam above the ravine with a yell and a very unhappy neigh.  _Sweet Shiva, how good is this guy?_

Just his luck – Zack found himself battling neck-and-neck with Tifa herself, deflecting her thrusts with his sword and trying to get some points of his own, except her insane horse was always three steps ahead of him and the positioning put him at a very distinct disadvantage.

For once, the captain of the guard had nothing grandiose to say, and Zack couldn’t help but wonder what had her so unusually subdued.  Tifa still kept her focus squarely on him, though, giving Zack the advantage (and the pleasant surprise) of watching Cloud take down every single guard bloodlessly, one by one.

The other guard on Tifa’s right made the mistake of spinning straight into the flat of Cloud’s blade, and the impact knocked the wind out of her, which seemed a little strange for how average the sword was but Zack wasn’t about to complain.  The really beefy guard on the captain’s left actually fell by one of her own strokes, a backswing gone hilariously wrong.

“Missed me!” Zack said, laughing in spite of the incredible danger he was in.  _This is more like it._

“Laugh all you want!  We both know which one of us has more _honor_ , Hewley!” she said, expression falling as she looked around the ledge.  “Oh, no…”  _Honor?  Where the hell did that one come from?_

_Whatever._ “Ha!  Surrender to me now or prepare to—come on, Cloud, let me have some fun with this,” Zack said, as Tifa slumped unconscious, yet another victim of Cloud’s excellent concussing technique.

Cloud lifted her body from her horse, somehow missing _how livid Nanaki was,_ and set her down, sheathing his sword.  “Let’s go.”

Zack stood still as a statue, terrified with the knowledge that their final enemy was the most formidable yet.  “Cloud…the horse…we can’t…he’ll destroy us.”

“What?  That’s nuts,” Cloud said, reaching out to take his hand, which would have been greatly appreciated at _literally any other time_.  “Come on, I have no idea how to get to town without you.”

Nanaki actually remained still, a portrait of silent rage, and Zack made the mistake of waving once he thought they were at a safe distance.

The horse seemed to leap half a league in the span of a second, and Zack knew he had a tendency to think a little creatively at times like this, but he could’ve sworn he saw something bright flash in Cloud’s eyes, and then a block of ice forming around Nanaki’s feet, binding them together.  _What?  No…I’m just seeing things._

“Nanaki!” someone shouted, probably Tifa.  “Collapse the dam with your tail, it’ll break the ice!”  _Wha…?  Okay, I’m_ not _seeing things._

The horse practically growled as Cloud’s eyes widened, apparently just as surprised by Nanaki’s suddenly icy situation as Zack was, but he didn’t have time to ask any questions before the horse used his conveniently flamed tail to set fire to the dam, the wood disintegrating with little resistance.  _Out of the frying pan, and into the…water!_   “Oh no…oh, no…run again!” Zack said, making a mad dash away from their impending doom.

Cloud didn’t follow, and Zack turned around to see him mesmerized by the unholy mass of water headed straight for him.  _Really, now?!_

“Spike, it’s run or die!” he shouted, and it was with a stab in his gut from his remaining sense of self-preservation that he doubled back, grabbing Cloud by the arm.  “And I’m not gonna let you die!”

The only thing like a shelter within reasonae running distance was another cave not far ahead, and Zack sprinted for it, dragging Cloud along with him.  “We’ll be safe in here!” he said, pulling a stone in front of the entryway once they were inside.  “...I think.”

All of the sudden exertion had taken a toll on him, and it wasn’t until Cloud let out a panicked breath that Zack stopped panting long enough to see that floodwater was creeping into their little hideaway.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't have an excuse for that first half, except that I like writing from Reno's POV more than Angeal's, and Jenova's just...her. And before you ask, no, he doesn't have any special backstory or anything. He's just watched a loooot of people get screwed over.
> 
> Coming up next: Cloud's secret is kind of already out, thanks to whatever the hell he just did here, but it's gonna be even more out as they try to escape the cave they just locked themselves in. And Tifa's gonna report back to Aerith on how her entire squad got creamed by two dorks who were holding hands when the chase started.


	7. Waterside Confessional

Cloud rushed around the cave, looking for any sort of opening he could kick through to break them out.  _We can’t lose here, we have to get out…I have to do what I left to do!_ But for all the considerable strength he now knew he possessed, the prison walls looked uniform on all sides, dark and cold, like the bricks of the tower he would have died in, except now he would die here instead, and—

“Spike, calm down,” someone said, putting two damp hands on his shoulders.  “It’s too dark to see, there’s no way out.”

 _No way out…no…no way out…_   Unwelcome lights flashed behind his eyes, a library and a bloody table covered in a green haze, and the hopelessness of life in the tower, only worse – so much worse.  Cloud cried out and grabbed the sides of his head, praying to any god who would listen that he didn’t accidentally cause some other crazy thing to happen before the intruding images left him.

“Cloud, listen to me!” the voice said, echoing off the cave walls like a thousand reminders of how trapped he was.

The flashes wouldn’t leave him, searing the image of Nanaki with ice trapping his hooves onto his mind, branding him with the knowledge that he still didn’t understand himself any more than he understood the world he lived in.  “I…what did I do, Zack?  Tell me!”

Zack sighed.  “I don’t know,” he admitted.  “One second, I really pissed Nanaki off, and the next…there was a big chunk of ice blocking him from us, I think, and you looked like you’d seen a ghost.”

 _I…what?_ “I think…I think I saw something from the dream world,” Cloud said, “only…I’ve never seen it awake before, and…”

“And…?”  The water had already come up to their knees, and Cloud found himself shaking with the weight of what he’d just experienced, cursing himself for looking so weak, especially now when he needed to stay strong.  _And…the vision said…_

“…It told me what to do,” Cloud finished, knowing the words were true as soon as they left his mouth.  _It was like…it was like the dream was speaking to me…_

Zack took a deep breath and stepped back.  “Okay, cool.  But _what_ did it tell you to do?”

 _I can’t say it…I don’t even think I know myself, but…it was magic.  Darker magic, different than the kind I know I have…  He can’t know I can use magic, Mother said that was the one part of me that made the world so dangerous, and…_ Cloud shivered.  “I…I don’t remember.”

The water was up to their waists now, and Zack shocked Cloud by responding to the lie not with suspicion, or confusion, or even an outright demand for the truth, but with a hug, warm and welcoming.  “Whatever happened…it doesn’t matter.  You saved my life, Cloud.  Thank you.”

 _I…saved him?_ “Yeah, it _doesn’t_ matter,” Cloud said, refusing to look Zack in the eye.  “We’re going to die here…”

“Hey, stop that,” Zack said, stepping back.  “There’s still a good chance the water will stop rising before it’s too late – I’ve walked around that whole dam, it’s not _that_ big.”  The forced cheer in his voice did more to negate that statement than any amount of water ever could, and Cloud felt his heart sink to the bottom of his feet.   _Mother was right…I should’ve just stayed home._

“You really think we’re gonna make it?” Cloud asked, taking note of how Zack’s face fell.  _We’re not gonna make it.  Like you said, there’s no way out of here…_

“There’s a ledge up there, do you see it?” Zack asked, pointing towards it with one hand and leaving Cloud’s shoulder empty.  “Let’s climb up there and wait it out.”

Even with the wet boots and slippery rocks, it didn’t take long to reach their last safe haven, and Cloud felt the panic rise along with the water, closer and closer to cutting them off.

It reminded him of his mother, in a strange and roundabout way.  Sickness and aging would creep up on her the same way the water was creeping up on him, closer and closer to killing her until Cloud sang it away, draining the illness like water in a flooded cave.  Over and over and over again.  Except singing couldn’t help him now.  “Zack…”

“Yeah?”

“I…”  _I’m really glad I knew you, even if it was only for a day.  You’re…the first person I’ve ever met who believed in me, who knew my limitations but didn’t make them out to be weaknesses, who...who helped me be strong.  And in another life, one in which I got out of here and made it home…I never would have forgotten you._ Even though this was his last chance, Cloud couldn’t bring himself to say the words out loud.“I can’t swim.”

Zack laughed, somehow able to act cheerful even as the water reached their chests on the ledge, counting down the moments they had left.  “Somehow, I feel like it won’t matter,” he said.  “You might be right…I don’t know if I can get us out of this one.”

“I’m sorry,” Cloud said, pushing his damp hair back, and Zack gave a small smile at the way his spikes hit the ceiling of the cave.  “If I hadn’t made you get me out of the tower in the first place…”

“Don’t start with that,” Zack said, the tone so intensely earnest that it almost brought Cloud out of his dark mood.  “I don’t know everything about you, but…I can tell that your family hasn’t been very good to you, even if you think they have.  No one should have to be locked away forever, you know?  I’m just glad I could help you find some freedom.”

_My family…hasn’t been good to me?  I guess…Sephiroth did pretty much ignore me until he left, and Mother…I thought she was kind to me, but…yeah, what kind of mother tells her son he can never leave?  Freedom…yeah, you helped me find that, too._

The water reached their shoulders, and Zack finally gave up the game with a sigh, accepting that their journey would end here.  “Since…since this looks like the end…how about we tell each other a secret?” Zack asked, giving a halfhearted smile.  “It’s not like either of us will be able to tell anyone else, so…”

“…Okay,” Cloud agreed, coming to terms with the fact that his last few seconds on this earth might be spent watching his only friend decide he was insane.  “You first.”  _If he takes too long…no, I won’t finish that thought._

Zack moved his arm as if to scratch the back of his neck, but there wasn’t enough space left above the water for him to complete the motion, and he sliced the palm of his hand open on a rock instead, wincing at the blood.  “Ouch – that hurt…oh, well.”  The _drowning will hurt more_ went left unsaid.

“I can—never mind,” Cloud said.  _I’m such a coward.  About to die and I can’t even help him…_

That earned him a distinctly confused look, and Zack shook his head before taking a deep breath, steeling himself for his confession.  “This isn’t gonna mean anything to you, but…I’m not actually a Hewley.  My real name’s Zack Fair,” he said with a grimace, as though it were some sort of huge deal.  “Now at least…someone knows.”

Cloud blinked at him, uncomprehending.  “I mean, that’s a nice name?  ‘Fair’ suits you more than ‘Hewley,’ I guess…but why did you change it?”

“There’s no time,” Zack said, gulping as the water reached his Adam’s apple.  “But, I swear, if I’m lucky enough to find you in the next life, I’ll tell you the whole story.  Your turn, Spike.”

 _You think you’d be lucky to find me…?  I…I hope I find you, too._ “My eyes aren’t just ‘pretty cool-looking,’ like you said in the tower,” Cloud said.  _That came out way lamer than I intended…_

Zack seemed to think so, too.  “Is that it?  Seriously?  I go and tell you the one thing that could completely destroy my reputation, and you tell me _that_?  The vaguest piece of information in all of human history?”

Cloud tilted his head up so he could still speak, the water tickling the bottom of his chin.  “They’re magic eyes,” he admitted, the feeling of finally being able to say it out loud surprisingly good, even if he’d only get to feel it once.  “They…they glow when I sing.”

“…Wait, what?” Zack asked, dumbstruck.  Cloud could only imagine the look on his face – turning his head now would mean going underwater.

Zack might have been confused, but things were finally coming together for Cloud, and he felt his adrenaline start pumping again as everything fell into place.  _Old age creeps up on Mother, I sing, she’s young again…water creeps up on us, it’s too dark to see, but…_   “My eyes glow when I sing!  Zack, we’re gonna make it!” Cloud said, inhaling one last time.  “Mako gleam and glow, let your power shine…”

The water was too high for him to get any more of the song out, but Cloud was in luck – it only took a second before the rocks below him were illuminated in a golden glow, and he heard Zack’s shout of surprise through the water, the bubbles floating in front of his face before settling on the cave ceiling.

Cloud turned his gaze down, and watched the pebbles at the bottom of the cave float towards a point far to his right.  _If there’s a place we can break through, that’s it._ He pointed towards it, relieved when Zack nodded in understanding, even if his eyes were still as big as saucers.  _Glad he’s not too shocked to help get us out of here._

Zack wrapped his non-bleeding arm around Cloud’s waist and swam for the opening, while Cloud just hoped the glow would hold out until they got there.  _Mako, gleam and glow…let your power shine…make the clock reverse…_

Two kicks and the rocks shifted enough for Cloud to move them with his own hands, surprised at how easy it was once he got the hang of it.  _Bring back what once was mine, what once was mine._

Oxygen was running low for the both of them, but it was with one more purposeful shove that Cloud broke through the wall, praying for a safe landing as the outward flow of the water pulled them out of the cave and over a waterfall.  The sun was low in the sky, and it was quite possibly the most beautiful thing Cloud had ever seen, suspended in the air for just a moment.  _I feel like I can do anything…_

The rocks below definitely left some bruises, but Cloud didn’t care, and Zack didn’t let go.  They were alive, and, well…it wasn’t like his eyes were a secret anymore.  Cloud could just heal their injuries, and they could get right back to their original plan of seeing the lanterns and not dying.  Everything was going to work out just fine.

 

\--------------------------------- 

 

The crown princess had just finished changing back into her regular clothing when there was a knock at her chamber door.  _It’s only been a few hours…_

Aerith was unprepared to see Tifa again so soon, and looking so…disgruntled.  “What happened to you, Teef?” she asked, walking over and brushing her friend’s bangs back, revealing a very nasty-looking bruise.  “Dear gods, that looks painful.”

“I’m fine, I’ll be fine,” Tifa said, but the lack of focus in her eyes said otherwise.

“You have a concussion,” Aerith said softly, guiding her towards the nearest chair.

“I’ve had worse…no, I can’t sit down, it’ll dirty the furniture,” Tifa said, making it sound like it was some sort of huge deal to wipe some dirt off a wooden chair.

Aerith laughed a little bit in spite of herself, but quickly reigned it in.  _I know you’re sensitive about that sort of thing…_   “I don’t care – your well-being is more important to me than that,” she said.  “I’ve never seen you so injured, though…was it Hewley?”

Tifa shook her head softly, wincing at the pain.

“Maybe _don’t_ try to irritate that,” Aerith said.  “Hold on, I’ll get you a cool washcloth.”

Her washroom had a neat stack of them, and she bounced out to her personal garden, dipping one in the fountain there.  _Not the most sanitary source of water, but it should be fine._

Tifa sighed in appreciation when Aerith put the cool cloth on her face, gently wiping away some of the dirt.  “So…if it wasn’t Zack, how’d you get so hurt?”

“…Who’s Zack?”

“You said the one who had the crown was the youngest, right?  Some people in town said that was his first name,” Aerith said, leaving the cloth where it was but moving her hands down to Tifa’s shoulders, trying to work through some of the knots.  _I wish the rest of the Guard would come back soon…you really need a break.  I could go on holiday up on the cape…it could be just the two of us.  You could rest._

Tifa didn’t speak for a long moment.  “You went into town without me?”

Aerith narrowed her eyes.  “What, I can’t take care of myself for a couple hours?” she said.  “Mom and Dad are overseeing the lantern crafting, but they asked me to check up on the bakeries and musicians.  Everyone was out chasing Hewley, so…I went myself.”

“You could’ve gotten hurt!” Tifa said.

“And it would have been my fault, not yours,” Aerith insisted.  “You’re doing everything you can – you don’t have to try so hard to prove yourself.”  _I like you just the way you are._

A moment of silence passed, and Aerith knew her point had gotten across.  “So… _Zack_ …he fought the way he usually does,” Tifa said, staring straight ahead.  “He ran, he joked, and he didn’t do the greatest job of getting around Nanaki.  It was the other guy who was the real threat.”

“…Other guy?”

“Yeah, there was another guy with him,” Tifa said.  “Never seen him before in my life.  He was shorter, and blond, but dressed about the same.  I didn’t really see his face…but his bangs went up the same way the queen’s do.”

 _Huh.  I’ve never seen anyone’s hair do that thing Mom’s does…I wonder how it looks on a man._   “So what did this other guy do?”

“It took him all of thirty seconds to knock everyone out but me,” Tifa said, “and as soon as Hewley – or Zack, or whatever his name is – as soon as he got me talking, the other guy did, well…that,” she finished, pointing at the bruise.

“Thirty seconds?” Aerith said.  “Wow…”

“…That’s not all, either,” Tifa said hesitantly.  “You’re not gonna believe me, but…Nanaki went after them, and the blond guy…his eyes flashed green for a second, and suddenly Nanaki’s hooves were covered in ice.  I’ve never seen anything like it.”

 _No way…_ “He cast an ice spell,” Aerith said, jaw dropping.  “That’s…that ability has been lost to time since the materia-mining days of Wutai.”  _And that was…ages ago.  Literally._ “If he’s a treasure hunter, he’s way out of any of the Hewleys’ league, in my opinion.”

“Magic…now, in this day and age?” Tifa asked.  “Are you sure?”

 _Am I?  I don’t have the authority to say for sure unless I can see it for myself…and even then, there’s a huge difference between written history and the real thing._ “I can’t be sure,” Aerith said, stepping back to pace around her chamber.  “But…I have an idea, and you’re not gonna like it.”

Tifa stayed silent, waiting to hear it, and Aerith appreciated the time to gather her thoughts.  _Yes…if it works, this will be good for everyone.  Especially you, Tifa._

“First of all, I’m ordering you to stay in the castle and rest until after sunset,” Aerith started, to Tifa’s immediate protest.

“But Hewley!  They could be halfway out of the kingdom by then!” Tifa said, wincing again at a pain in her head.

“You’re not the only one who needs to rest,” Aerith said.  “I’m sure Zack Hewley and his companion need to sleep, just like us regular folks.  And you’re obviously still hurt, so…you’re going to rest here until after supper, and then I give you permission to go and search.  That’s an order.”

Tifa sighed, accepting that she couldn’t change a direct order.  _It’s for your own good…I don’t want you to get hurt again._ “Thank you…I won’t disappoint this time,” she promised.

 _No matter what happens, I won’t be disappointed._ “Don’t worry about it.  I want you to go alone, though – without Nanaki.  Your horse could sense them out, for sure…but I don’t want you to provoke another fight.”

“…What?”

Aerith tapped her foot on the floor a few times, trying to find the right wording that would keep her plan from sounding ridiculous.  “I don’t want you to apprehend Hewley – not yet, anyway,” she said.  “I want you to convince his companion to come to the festival so I can talk to him about a possible position on the Guard.”

_“…What?!”_

“Hear me out,” Aerith said, glad that Tifa wasn’t blindly accepting orders like she did back when she first started out.  “Whether or not this man can use magic…if he hasn’t associated with any of the Hewley brothers before, maybe we can convince him to leave just as easily.  The Guard’s been spread far too thin looking for my brother; we need someone who can ease the load on your shoulders and the others’ as well.”

“So we’re hiring mercenaries now?” Tifa asked, obviously displeased with the idea.

“No, we’re hiring talented individuals who just need a little push in the right direction,” Aerith corrected.  “Sound familiar?”

Tifa looked down.  _Okay, that was probably a little harsh.  But necessary._   “…Yes, princess.”

“Don’t call me ‘princess,’” Aerith reminded gently.  “Now, it’s totally possible that this guy is not gonna want any part of an honest career – I’m leaving it up to you to figure that out.  But I want you to actually _talk_ to them, not just capture them, okay?”

“…I’ll do it,” Tifa said.  “But…who’s going to watch over you during the festival?”

“You are,” Aerith said simply.  “I’ll just wait for you to come back before I head out.”

Tifa frowned.  “But…one of the others can probably be ready sooner, and I’m sure you don’t want to miss any of it.”

Aerith smiled, stopping her pacing.  “Do I have to spell it out?  Tifa, I want to spend more time with you.”  _There, I said it._

“Wha…you do?” Tifa asked.

“Yes, you’re my best friend!” Aerith said, putting her hands on her hips.  _And…well, I probably shouldn’t make our lives awkward by admitting that other part of it.  But tomorrow’s the night of dreams, and…I can set aside my duty for a little while, at least in my heart._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A better title for this chapter might have been "Hardcore Emotional Support, part 1," and that's all I really have to say on it, except that poor Cloud is starting to realize his magical power might be a bit different than he always thought it was. Poor guy.
> 
> Coming up next: the campfire scene! There'll be Zack's backstory (from his own perspective rather than just bits and pieces, which is nice), as well as some _good Clack development_ , and Jenova showing up like "wtf are you doing with this enemy of our family," which is good fun.


	8. Campfire

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter ran away from me a few times while I was writing it (I have another longfic idea that I'm really on the fence about...also, moved my stuff into a new apartment). Warning for descriptions of canon-typical Sephiroth violence.

To Zack’s eyes, it looked like there were three suns in the sky, the image of Cloud’s glowing eyes branded into his mind.  _That was…real!?  Amazing…and real?!  But it can’t be…no, I’d be dead if it wasn’t.  But it can’t be.  I’m so confused._

He didn’t even notice when Cloud broke free of his grip, panicking for a moment before he realized the river had gotten shallow enough to wade through.

Cloud’s eyes weren’t glowing now, a perfectly normal shade of blue, and staring at him like he had just turned into a chocobo.  Zack rather thought _he_ was the one who should be shocked, having just watched…whatever that was.

“Zack, we’re alive!” Cloud said, as though the pain in his bleeding hand wasn’t already making that very clear.  “We made it out!”

“You…your eyes glow,” Zack said flatly.  “What…how?”

Cloud sighed, resigned look on his face.  “Um, yeah.  They do.  I didn’t want to say anything sooner, because…”

It was the slump in his shoulders that made Zack realize how stupid he was being, and he forced himself to calm down, to take Cloud’s ability like it hadn’t come flying out of the left field.  “Because it’s really…cool,” Zack finished, a grin spreading across his face.  “You’ll never need a torch, like, ever.  Unless you’re somewhere that you gotta be quiet, but—”

“That’s not all they do,” Cloud interrupted, sounding beyond grateful that Zack seemed to be okay with it.  “Come on, I’ll show you.”

Getting out of the water with one hand out of commission proved to be difficult, and Cloud helped him out, further cementing his growing place in Zack’s life.  _You saved my life…how many times today?  And it’s not even sunset._

Cloud scratched the back of his head for a moment, then pulled a fallen log out of the forest’s edge with ease, pulling it out parallel to the river.  “Um, sit down,” he said.  “And hold out your hand – the injured one.”

Zack obeyed, watching as Cloud looked at his hand with keen eyes and wondering if he was going to freeze it, too.  He winced when Cloud pressed down on one of the muscles close to the gash.  “It’s fine, really—“

“I’m not blind, I can see it’s not fine,” Cloud said, voice tender despite the harsh words.  He looked Zack in the eyes, expression full of trust he wasn’t sure he deserved, but Gaia, he wanted to.  “Okay, promise me you won’t freak out.”

“I’m already freaking out, Spike,” Zack said, and both men laughed, though in Zack’s case it was more of a nervous jittering.  “Just do it.”

Cloud nodded and turned his gaze down towards Zack’s hand, beginning to sing.  “Mako gleam and glow, let your power shine…”

It shone, all right – though without the water, it was more of benevolent than anything else .  And he hadn’t noticed in the cave, having been rather focused on not dying, but Cloud had a very…pleasant singing voice, in a rustic sort of sense.  _The kind of voice you’d want to sing you to sleep._  Then Zack’s gaze trailed down to his hand, and his heart skipped a beat when he saw the cut sealing up, gold pinpricks of light leaving his skin good as new.   _What...?!_  “Ah…ah…”

“Don’t scream,” Cloud said.

“I’m not gonna scream, do I sound like I’m gonna scream?” Zack asked, turning the hand over.  _It’s like it never happened…the bruises from the fall this morning are gone, too._ “I’m just…confused, and amazed by the wonderful things you can do…?  How long have you been able to do that, maybe you should get it checked out?”

“…I’ve been able to heal as long as I can remember,” Cloud said, voice barely more than a whisper.  “Since I could speak.  That’s…that’s why…”

_Pull yourself together, man,_ Zack scolded himself.  _Cloud has done everything in his power to make sure your sorry ass makes it to the festival in one piece – you’re probably the first person other than his mother to see this, so buck up and stop overreacting._ “...You never left,” Zack finished. “You’re…you’re safe with me, you know that, right?  I’m not gonna treat you any differently…I’m just a little surprised, is all.”

“Before today, I always thought…” Cloud said, stopping to let out a huff of breath.  “I thought that if anyone found out, they’d take advantage of my power.  I didn’t even know I could do…the other stuff until it happened.  The ice…I thought all I could do was heal.  I guess that’s another thing Mother’s lied about.”

Zack took a deep breath, taking in the dark look on Cloud’s face.  “And you’re still gonna go back?”

“I…”

“Spike, you deserve to follow your dreams,” Zack said, not caring if he was being too heavy of an influence.  “You can’t do that cooped up in that tower forever.”

“That’s it, then.  I don’t want to go back,” Cloud decided.  “So…I won’t.  But what will I do?”

_Run away with me…sing me to sleep…no.  Keep those thoughts to yourself, Fair._ “You’ll figure something out,” Zack said.   _Alright, I’ll let one slip out._  “I guess…if you _really_ need a job…”

Cloud looked at him expectantly.  “…If I really need a job?”

“You could probably…oh, I don’t know…become an honorary Hewley brother,” Zack said with a hopeful grin.  “You know, if Kuns and Geal like you as much as I do.”

“I’d…I’d like that,” Cloud said, lips curving up in a smile.  “…What do you guys do?  Other than steal crowns and bust guys out of towers?”

“Well…today was pretty out of the ordinary,” Zack said.  “The crown was for…hmm, how do I say this…Angeal’s got a close friend outside the kingdom who’s very sick, and he wanted to have the funds to find a cure.”

“He’s…sick?” Cloud asked.  “There might be a chance…I could try to heal him.  You know.  If that’s okay.”

_No way – how did I not put that together already?_ “You seriously would?  You’d go?”

Cloud nodded, and Zack found himself laughing in relief.  “That just about seals the deal, then.  Angeal will _definitely_ want you to stick around if you can get Genesis on his feet again!”

“I’m...glad to help,” Cloud said, pausing for a second before looking back at him with a curious expression.  “Oh…I think, since we _almost_ died, and since I’m not going home anymore…this counts as the next life, right?”

_What? …Oh._ “What, about my real name?  I’m warning you…it’s a sad story,” Zack said.  “Like, really sad.”

“I want to hear it anyway, it’s yours,” Cloud said, resting his chin on his hands.

Zack bit his lip and looked down at the ground.  _If there’s anyone safe to tell…it’s you._ “Okay,” he said.  “But…let’s build a campfire first.  It’s kind of chilly.”  _And…I gotta prepare myself for this._

The goosebumps on Cloud’s bare arms testified to the chill, and they both got up to gather wood for the fire.  Despite being about to rehash the worst event of his childhood, Zack felt…happy.  Happier than he had in a while.  Once they had a sizable pile, he took his trusty flint out of his pocket and got a spark going.

Cloud sat back down and brushed the dirt off his upper arms once the fire was going, bathing the dusk in orange light.  “So…Zack Fair, huh?” he said, leaning forward towards the fire, drinking in its warmth.  “What’s up with that?”

_Well…hold on._ “Do you know anything about world history?” Zack asked.

Cloud shook his head.  “Mother would bring me whatever kinds of stories I wanted…for a little while, anyway.  I think she was stealing them, so she stopped a few years ago.  But never anything about the outside world…no matter how many times I asked.”  _So that’s why there were so many odd things you didn’t know…_

“Okay, this is gonna be part history lesson, then,” Zack said, bracing himself.  _I don’t even know history very well anymore…this’ll be interesting._   “So, the kingdom we’re in right now is called Guardia, and it’s…I think it’s the oldest one.  I’m not totally sure on that, history goes way back.  The kingdom to the east is Midgar.  For a long time, Midgar was ruled by the Faremis family, who were pretty into the whole world-denomination thing, but left Guardia alone.”

“So…everywhere but here,” Cloud said.

“Yeah,” Zack confirmed.  “The Faremis dynasty produced some pretty wacky rulers and some really great ones – the husband of Queen Claudia, Gast, is the last living Faremis.”

“Queen Claudia?”

Zack shook his head.  “I’m sorry, guess I missed something…it’s, uh, been a while since I thought about any of this stuff.  Queen Claudia is the current ruler of Guardia, and has been for the last…twenty-five years or so.  Since before either of us were born.  Anyway, this story isn’t about Guardia – it’s about Midgar.”

“So…you’re from Midgar,” Cloud said, drawing his eyebrows together.  “Originally.”

Zack nodded.  “My family, the Fairs…they were the advisors to the Faremis rulers.  It went back generations – Fair consult to Faremis king.  Very traditional.”

“If it’s so traditional…how come you’re all the way out here?” Cloud asked, a very good question.

_This is…more painful than I thought it was gonna be, even after this long._ “The Faremis line ended sixteen years ago,” Zack said evenly, fighting off the flashbacks he was sure would be coming.  _“_ I was seven…”  _I was shooting flour sacks with the cook’s daughter…she punched me when I said that girls couldn’t shoot well.  It hurt a lot, I still remember that.  The sun had just set, and my father…he told us to leave the courtyard, said there was something strange going on._

“…Zack?  Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” Zack said, tone only slightly forced.  “So…where was I…I saw my mother that morning at breakfast.  She told me I was strong, but that I needed to use it take care of others…it was right after sunset when everything went down…”

Zack clenched his fist until his joints ached.  An eternity could pass, and he would never forgive, he would never forget.  “An angel flew right over me, his one black wing trailing feathers all over the flour sacks.  I remember thinking, ‘oh no, dirt’s gonna get in the flour and spoil the cakes.’  Can you believe it?  A godsdamn _demon_ showed up at the castle, and I was worried about _cake_.”

He was expected some questions about that part, one-winged people being a rare sight, but Cloud was silent, staring into the fire like it was full of ghosts.  “…Keep going,” he said.  “What did the…angel do?”

“One second, a feather had landed on my foot, and the next, everything was in flames,” Zack said, voice cracking.  “I…I remembered what my mother had said that morning, about looking out for others.  So I pulled my collar over my nose and ran back into the castle, looking for survivors.”  _Worst mistake of my life…I should’ve just run._

“I went to the throne room first,” he continued, mind a million miles away from the campfire.  “The king and queen…they’d been run through by the same sword, their blood staining the thrones.  I can’t…I’ll never forget that sight.  It was then that I knew I had to get out, that the one-winged angel was there to kill everyone, but I couldn’t just go without looking for everyone else, too.”

_No, that right there – that was the worse mistake._ “All the guards had died the same way as the king and queen…every single one.  I made my way towards the Fair chambers, and…the whole place was scorched.  My father…he was already long gone by the time I got there, consumed by the flames, but my mother was still breathing.  She said…”  Zack’s breath came out shaky, and he closed his eyes, giving in and letting the pain wash over him.

_“Come closer…my son.”  Blackened lips and a scalp covered in ash were all that Zack could still see of her until she opened her eyes, burned blind and clouded over._

_“Mama...Mama, is that really you?” he asked, face damp with tears and sweat.  “Mama…you’re gonna make it, right?”_

_She wasn’t able to smile anymore, instead reaching out a fleshless hand to her son, which he took with a wave of nausea.  “I can’t…lie to you, Zack,” she said.  “My time…is running out.  I…need you…to…”_

_“To do what, Mama?” Zack asked, trying to look past the missing side of her face, completely ruined by the fire.  “I’ll do anything…”_

_“…You are the last Fair, Zack,” she said, her voice commanding even as it neared its end.  “It is your duty…to be our…living legacy.”_

_Zack was barely able to process her words, just praying to wake up, hoping beyond hope that he would open his eyes with a scream and be in this very room, but with the walls intact and his father still breathing, and his mother’s eyes restored to their natural shade of indigo.  “I…I don’t know how, Mama…”_

_“…You’ll do your best, Zack.  Promise me,” she said, voice drying up to little more than a rasp.  “And…your father…he’d have said it differently.  Better…I think…”_

_“How would he have said it, Mama?”_

_Her hand had dropped then, last strength spent, and Zack leaned forward with a cry already on his lips, but another rasp left her throat.  “He’d say…live for all of us, Zack.  The Fair way…is to have…dreams, and honor…to be a hero…for the ones you love.  Keep that…in your heart…”_

_“…Hero?” Zack said, screwing up his face in childish rage and confusion.  “I don’t want to be a hero!  I want you to stay alive, Mama!  Don’t leave me!”_

_“Listen to me.  I’ll…always…be with you.  As long as you…remember…”_

_“Mama…please don’t go…I won’t forget, I promise!”_

_“Zack…I…love you…”_

Zack knew before his eyes refocused that he’d started crying some time ago, and it was with an actual, audible sob that Cloud rushed over, pulling Zack into what was probably the most welcome embrace of his life.  “Did I…say all that out loud?”

“You did,” Cloud said over his shoulder.  “I can’t…I can’t even imagine what that must have been like…”

“You…you don’t want to.”  Gathering his strength, Zack took deep breaths for several long moments until he felt ready to speak, but he didn’t break the hug.  “There was only one other survivor.  The cook’s daughter, barely older than a toddler…she had collapsed at the back gate, with some minor burns but otherwise okay.  I carried her as far west as I could…some people found us once we crossed the Guardia border and took us to separate orphanages.  I never saw her again.”

A silence spread between them, heavy with shared grief.  “I’m so sorry,” Cloud said, and he made it sound so…so _personal_ that Zack almost started crying again.

“I had to forget about everything my mother told me once I hit the orphanage.  No one had any idea what had happened in Midgar, and I was too scared of it happening to Guardia if I said anything.  And even if I had, I was just an orphan kid with some badly burned clothes and a strange fear of feathers…no one would’ve believed me,” Zack said.  “It was a long time before things settled down in Midgar, but in the end, everyone assumed the angel had been possessed by something that night.  With all the heirs gone…the kingdom was in chaos.  Angeal’s friend managed to get this man, _the guy who killed everyone I loved,_ onto the throne.  And the best part?  He’s still there.  Barely leaves the castle, I hear.  All that destruction to get there, and he doesn’t even live up to it – let most of the colonies go, to fend for themselves.”

“…What’s his name?”

“It doesn’t matter,” Zack said bitterly.  “People here don’t use it – he’s a usurper to them, since there’s a Faremis still alive.”

Cloud leaned into Zack even more, sharing his warmth and the warmth of the fire.  “I wish the singing worked on heartache…I’ve tried.”

_Wouldn’t that be nice._ “I’ll be okay, I’ve just…never told anyone the whole story,” Zack said, hoping Cloud appreciated just how vulnerable he’d made himself.  “So…as I got older, I became friends with Angeal, who reminded me a lot of the values my mom held.  Eventually, Kunsel joined up, and we became thieves, somehow.  Angeal genuinely wants to help others, Kunsel’s in it for the profit, and I…don’t get me wrong, it’s a good life.  Adventures and danger and all the thrills you could ever need.  But what I really want is…”

“…Revenge?”  Cloud finished, frowning when Zack nodded.  “Zack, I…call me naïve, but you’re carrying around so much pain…don’t you think you could be happier if you, I don’t know, found a new dream?  And aren’t you happier when you’re focusing on the better things, anyway?”

_A new dream?  I guess…_ “You’re right, it’s just…avenging my family, even if I haven’t done a very good job of it so far…it’s a part of me I can’t ignore,” Zack admitted.  “Letting it go feels like…losing.  Like giving up.”

Cloud pulled away and looked him in the eye with his piercing gaze, resolute and determined.  “It’s not giving up, it’s moving on with your life,” he said.  “I’m not going home because I know I’ll never be happy there.  If you decide to stop seeking revenge…it would be because no amount of payback will fix what Sephiroth did, and because it won’t make you happy, _not_ because you’re weak.  Got it?”

“Okay.”  _Hold on a second…_   “Wait...”

Cloud blinked twice and stood up.  “I’m gonna get more firewood,” he said abruptly, marching off into the woods.  _How did he know the king’s name is Sephiroth…?_

 ---------------------------------

 

“Cut that one a bit close, didn’t you, dear?"

Cloud nearly jumped out of his boots, and if his hair could have possibly been standing more on end, it would have.  “Mother!”

“Don’t act so surprised,” Mother said, stepping out from behind the shadows.  Her eyes were covered by her hood, but her mouth was lined, and Cloud knew this conversation would end badly.  It always did when her mouth was lined.  “You and the _wanted thief_ have left a very easy trail to follow, I’m afraid.”

_“_ Wanted thief or not, he’s helped me realize a lot of things,” Cloud said, narrowing his eyes.  “For one—”

“No offense, dear, but I don’t give a chocobo’s feathers what the thief has taught you,” Mother said with a falsely sweet smile.  “What _I’m_ interested in is who taught you to cast elemental magic – assuming the rumors are true.  Spell-casting…a special talent, to be sure.  One Sephiroth doesn’t even possess.”

Cloud frowned.  “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Mother said.  “You cast an ice spell on the guard captain’s horse – which sealed your fate as a criminal, by the way.  This is why you’re too naïve to be out here, dear.  If you don’t come home with me now, they’ll arrest you and imprison you, then they’ll—”

“What sealed my fate is the knowledge that I can, in fact, protect myself out here.  Mother,” Cloud said, unmoving.  “I’m not going back.”

Mother sighed, adjusting her stance into something less openly aggressive.  “I’m sorry – I’m just so worried about you.  There’s something else I wanted to say, Cloud.  I wasn’t lying to you about your powers – I honestly didn’t know you could do whatever you did out there today.  So I have a proposition for you – train with me at home, until you can use that magic reliably, then I’ll let you leave to—”

“I don’t want to hear it,” Cloud said, remembering Zack’s story and the look on his face as he described the devastation Sephiroth caused.  _My own brother…_   “I’ve heard enough about what sort of things you do out here from Zack, thank you very much.”

Mother laughed, a series of sharp cackles that Cloud would have been sure could be heard from back at the campfire, except that would be severely underestimating her.  “Dear, do you really think he was telling the truth?  That’s just precious,” Mother said, putting extra emphasis on the last word.  “Hewley is lying to you, playing you like the lute you sent me away to get.  He’s trying to earn your trust, break through the walls we’ve so carefully built, so that he can get the crown _and_ exploit your powers.  It’s sad to watch, really.”

“You’re lying,” Cloud snarled.  “Zack would never do that.  I trust him – more than you.”

“I think your infatuation with this man is blinding you, dear,” Mother said, reaching into her cloak.   _…Infatuation?_  “The crown, by the way?  You didn’t hide it very well.  A child could have found it,” she said, tossing the satchel to him.  “Give it to him, I dare you.  Hewley will take the bag and run, before his friends show up with rope and a blindfold to steal you away from this kingdom.  Go with them, and you will never see the light of day again – and you place your trust on _that_?”

“I know their situation, and I intend to go to Midgar of my own free will,” Cloud said.  “Healing their friend will buy my passage into a new life, away from you.”

“I absolutely forbid you from going to Midgar,” Mother said.  She was losing traction, and they both knew it.

Cloud laughed, shaping each sound to mock his mother.  “I’ll just go _even more_ , then.”

“You’re talking nonsense again, Cloud.  Really, you’re too old for this.”

“We’re done here,” Cloud said, turning around.  “I’m going to follow my dream, and you can’t stop me.  Good night…Mother.”

A beat of a wing and Cloud knew he was alone again.  _I know I said some strong things back there, but…maybe she’s right.  I should hide the satchel somewhere…_

Something bright and knowing flashed behind his eyes.  _Oh…is it…?_   He obeyed the brightness, directing the energy of his hand into the satchel until it disappeared, particles of green magic fading where it used to be.

_Did I just…destroy it?  No, no, no…!_   Cloud felt his desperation increase as he tried to reverse whatever he’d just done, and it was with a sigh of relief that the satchel reappeared in his hand like nothing had happened.  _I have no idea what that was…but…it’s definitely useful._

Cloud made the satchel disappear and reappear a few more times, just to make sure he could, and walked back toward the campsite, formulating a plan of sorts.  _I let Sephiroth’s name slip…if Zack can accept that I’m the brother of the man who murdered his family, after sixteen years of wanting him dead, then...that’s basically trusting him with my life._ “Zack?”

“Hmm?” his friend said, the expectant note in his voice not going unnoticed.

_He noticed…gods, just get it out._ “…There’s something I should tell you…” Cloud started, ignoring his body’s fear response.  _I trust him_.  “Sephiroth is my brother.”

Much to his relief, Zack gave him a very affected shrug, patting the ground next to him.  “I see it now...based on your reactions to things,” he said.

“You do?”

“I also figure you had no idea what he’d done,” Zack said, and Cloud took a deep breath.  “It’s not like…did you expect me to blame you or something?  Anyway…I _guess_ …if you want to see him when we go to Midgar, I won’t blame you for that either.  I’d have so many questions if I was in your shoes…”

“Yeah, I do…”  _Ha, it’s funny.  I actually don’t have very many questions…Mother was always talking about getting the world ready for us, but I realize now what she wanted all along was…chaos.  Violence.  Suffering on everyone that wasn’t the three of us.  I don’t know what she did to Sephiroth that night, but…he wouldn’t have flown off the handle like that on his own._   “Hey, Zack?”

“Hmm again?” Zack said, amused smile gracing his features.

“You said back in the tower that the lanterns tomorrow…they’re for the prince…it’s his crown you took, isn’t it?”

Zack nodded.  “Only royal crown not in use.  If you want to hear his story, I don’t know that much of it…and it’s another sad one, though I won’t cry – this one’s got nothing to do with me.”

“I want to hear it,” Cloud said.  “If nothing else…so I know what people are commemorating tomorrow.”

“So…I don’t know exactly how long ago this was, but I was still young,” Zack started.  “Queen Claudia was pregnant with her firstborn.  Long story short, she got really sick, and everyone was convinced she was gonna die.”

_The current queen is Claudia…_ “…But she didn’t,” Cloud said.  “Right?”

“Right.  I don’t know if you’ve heard of these before – the four ancient crystals?”

Cloud shook his head, and Zack scratched the back of his.  “Basically, they were four really powerful rocks from the dawn of time.  Three of them were destroyed by an even more powerful witch, and when the queen got sick, the only one left was Guardia’s crystal.  They had a special name for its power, but…I can’t remember what it was,” he said.

Zack paused for a moment and flicked a twig into the fire, gathering his thoughts.  “So the doctors managed to get the final crystal into a form the queen could take as medicine, and it healed her and the baby.  Now, this was a special child – between how great the king and queen were back then and the power of the crystal, people were saying this baby prince was gonna carry everyone into a new age, or something prophetic like that.”

“What happened to him?” Cloud asked.

“He vanished a few days later, gone without a trace,” Zack said.  “People have a lot of theories as to what happened to him – some folks say he, uh, grew wings and flew away.  Some say he was kidnapped…but most people think he died that night.  The king and queen still think he’s out there somewhere, though, so every year they set off the lanterns for their son, hoping he’ll come home.”

_How would that even work?  If he was really out there somewhere…he’d probably be totally brainwashed by now.  Just an ordinary guy having no idea who he is._ “…What was his name?” Cloud asked.

Zack shrugged.  “I don’t remember,” he said.  “The crowd I’m with doesn’t talk about him too much, and like I said…I didn’t pay attention in history lessons.”

That conversation got Cloud thinking.  Not about the lost prince, or about the grief of a family separated, but about himself, and the new life he was finally going to have.  Cloud let himself be excited for tomorrow, taking in the night stars with a new perspective as Zack’s breathing evened out in sleep.  _That prince…he might never get to see the lanterns, but after all these years, I’m finally embracing my dreams._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there's "Hardcore Emotional Support, part 2." Revenge quests really don't suit Zack, but Cloud is the first person who's actually managed to get it through his spiky head.
> 
> Hoo boy, Zack's getting a rude awakening next chapter in more ways than one. But other than that, the next few chapters are all about the festival - I'm not really sure how pacing is gonna go. Up until the previous chapter, there's been pretty clear scene divides, but from here on out things just sort of...happen.
> 
> Oh, PSA: if you're one of those people who likes to talk to me on Tumblr, I changed my url to [melodiesofstrife](http://melodiesofstrife.tumblr.com). Because, imo, Melodies of Life >> One-Winged Angel and Cloud >> Angeal, so this was a clear pun upgrade for me.


	9. Into the City

Pulling the rope taut, Tifa stepped back and admired her handiwork.  His hands were bound around the trunk of a young pine, loose enough to avoid injury but tight enough that Hewley – _Zack, Aerith wants me to call him Zack_ – wouldn’t be going anywhere anytime soon.  And she hadn’t even woken him up.

_Now for the other one…no, I don’t want to scare him off, I want to see if he’s interested in a job.  Still leaving Hew—Zack tied up, though._

Tifa debated whether to wake up the other man or just wait for him to do it on his own, but the matter was decided for her when Zack rather abruptly starting shouting behind her.

“What the – untie me!” he said, pulling his wrists apart as though it would do any good.  “I don’t have the crown, I swear!”

Tifa frowned.  “I noticed,” she said.  “And as terrible as it is that Prince Cloud’s birthday will pass with his crown in the possession of thieves, you or otherwise…I’m not here to interrogate you.  Yet.”

Zack’s jaw dropped, and Tifa kept her expression neutral.  _Of course he’s shocked…but I doubt his friend will agree to speak with the princess if I arrest him._ “Wait…the prince’s name is Cloud?”

 _…Not what I was expecting._ “You’ve got to be kidding,” Tifa deadpanned.  “Yes, that’s his name.  How did you not know that?”

Zack shrugged, though the motion was somewhat hampered by his current captive position.  “I was a little busy being a _dishonorable brigand_ , as I’m sure you would say.”

 _I’m not…I’m not that pretentious._ “Anyway…I’m here to talk to your friend about a job.”

“To talk…?  To Cl – clarify, can you clarify that?” Zack asked, fidgeting.

Tifa sighed.  _From yesterday, I would’ve thought he was a morning person.  Guess not._ “The Royal Guard’s a bit shorthanded,” she said, “and the princess is impressed with how he handled the ambush yesterday.”

“…Oh,” Zack said, looking…oddly dejected.  _What, did he expect me to offer_ him _a job?_   “Bet that wasn’t your idea, though,” he added with a smirk.

“Let me be clear – since I don’t know where the crown is, whether or not I take you to prison immediately after your friend talks to the princess or give you the chance to conjure it up is _entirely_ dependent on how much you annoy me today,” Tifa said, scratching some dirt off her gloves.  “I’d be careful.”

A yawn that quickly turned into a scuffling of feet caught her attention, and Tifa turned around to see the other man on his feet, panicked look in his eyes.  “Untie him,” he said, voice forcedly even.

“I’m not here for him,” Tifa said, which must have been a bad choice of words from how the man reacted, backing away and reaching for a sword that wasn’t there.  “I took your sword so we could have a civil conversation.”

“Then how come you still have your spear?” Zack asked, grating at her every nerve.

“Because it’s my _job_ ,” she said, not bothering to turn around.  “Speaking of which, that’s what I’m here for.  To offer you a job…I’m sorry, what was your name?”

The man opened his mouth to answer but paused, looking over her shoulder.  He raised his eyebrows at what was certainly Zack, a clear expression of _what the hell do you mean_ if there ever was once.  “It’s, uh…No…t loud.  No, it’s Noct.  My name is Noct,” he said.

 _Well I’ve never heard a less convincing lie in my life, and half my job is questioning criminals._ “…Okay, _Noct_ ,” she said.  “Would you be willing to speak with the princess at the festival?  I’m sure she would like to know your real name, though.”

Not-Noct’s expression was torn between a grimace and a smile, and the result would have made Tifa laugh if the conversation wasn’t already going so poorly.  “Um…sure, I guess,” he said.  “But I’m only here to see the lanterns, so I’d rather talk…not when that’s going on.”

“No one does other things while the lanterns are being released,” Tifa said.  “By royal decree…haven’t either of you ever been to the festival before?”

“No, this is Noct’s first time, and I haven’t been interested,” Zack said plainly.  “Too many guards walking around for my taste.”  _Oh, really?_

“So, Noct.  How about I take Zack to the castle for questioning before showing you around the festival?” Tifa suggested through her teeth.

“Please don’t arrest him, he’s my guide,” not-Noct said.  “I…I won’t talk to the princess unless he remains free.”  _Who does this guy think he is?_

“Listen.  I’m currently the most powerful law-enforcer in the kingdom.  I don’t need to hear your ultimatums, I can just as easily arrest you both and do this whole thing my way,” Tifa said.

“Please?” not-Noct repeated.  “It’s my birthday…”

 _What would Aerith do…who am I kidding, I know exactly what she would do.  Doesn’t mean I have to like it._ “…Ugh…okay, fine, whatever,” she said to Zack, crossing her arms.  “But when Noct – or whatever his real name is – talks to Princess Aerith, we’re discussing what went down yesterday.  And by discussing, I mean you’re telling me everything you know or it’s straight to the dungeons.”

Zack nodded, looking sufficiently intimidated, and Tifa confiscated his weapons as well, sliding them all into the roomy holster on her back.  “Wait, I need those!” he protested.

“No weapons at the festival,” she said.  “That’s not a special condition – it’s been the rule for twenty years.  I’ll leave them at the castle, if you’re worried about anything getting _stolen_.  Which would just be rich, given—”

“Excuse you, just because I—”

“Stop, please,” not-Noct interrupted.  “I’m not here to cause you any more trouble, I just want to go to the festival.  I’ll…we’ll…adhere to whatever conditions you set.”

“There’s a man with manners, Hewley,” Tifa said.  “That’s all you had to say—”

“I don’t think _you_ should be talking to me about good manners, you’re just—”

“Guys,” not-Noct said.  “Guys, _stop_.  Thanks…Tifa?  This means a lot to me.”

Neither of them had any possessions other than the weapons she’d taken, so Tifa set off in the direction of the castle, cutting through a well-worn trail.

The walk wasn’t long, a half hour at the most, but it was marked by an awkward silence that further frayed at Tifa’s nerves.  _I know I’m raining on their parade, but I’m just doing my job.  Obeying royal orders.  Trying to enforce the law.  Trying to be an honorable person.  It’s more difficult than everyone makes it out to be…it’s not like my life has been easy for rising through the ranks so quickly.  There’s so much I have to live up to…an nobody seems to think I can do it except Aerith._

The forest began to thin out, and the outline of Guardia Castle became visible across the lake, regal and statuesque.

“Wow,” not-Noct said.  “That’s…”

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Tifa said.  “The most magnificent castle in the world.”

“In your opinion,” Zack grumbled.

Tifa snorted.  “What, you’ve thieved from greater castles?”

Zack didn’t answer, his indignant silence filling the air.  _For the love of Gaia…Aerith, I sincerely hope you know what you’re doing.  And that Hewley behaves himself until you allow me to do my duty._

Not-Noct pushed through their shoulders and rushed to the bridge, taking the city in with eager eyes.  _It’s like…it’s like he’s never seen so much life in one place, and he wants to drink it all in._

Looking to her left, Tifa saw Zack with much the same expression as not-Noct, only rather than being directed at the city, it was directed at his friend.  _…Oh.  Oh, that explains a lot._ She cleared her throat and adjusted her tunic.  “So…consider this off the record, but how exactly did you end up with him, here?  The worst possible place for a wanted criminal?”

Zack scratched the back of his neck, expression becoming decidedly less sappy.  “Well…you _promise_ this is off the record?”

 _Gods…well, I’m already the worst Royal Guard captain ever for letting him remain free in the first place.  Might as well._ “…Sure.”

“Thanks,” Zack said.  “Basically, I was running away from your insane horse yesterday, and somehow ended up at the bottom of this gorge.  There was some more running, and I found a tower.”

“There aren’t any towers in that forest,” Tifa said.  “I’ve patrolled it enough times to know.”

“Believe me, this was _way_ out of the way,” Zack said, watching as not-Noct took some macarons off a cart.  _Good thing all the festival food is paid for by the crown…_   “I climbed up, pretty sure your horse couldn’t follow me, and as soon as I got in someone knocked me out.”

“Him,” Tifa said, pointing at not-Noct.  “The guy who won’t tell me his real name.”

“Yeah, him,” Zack said, dopey smile spreading across his face as not-Noct tried one of the macarons.  _Wow, I hope I don’t look like that when I talk about the princess.  Then again, I have to keep that under control…there’s nothing stopping_ him _from feeling how he wants._ “Long story short – he used the crown as leverage to get me to take him here.  I guess he’s been wanting to see the lanterns in person his whole life.”

“You’re gonna be pretty special to him, you know that?” Tifa said.

Zack nodded.  “I…it’s really obvious how I feel, isn’t it?  I just…I want to deserve it.”

“Believe me, I know the feeling,” Tifa said, feeling a strange…camaraderie.  _Maybe Barret is right…everyone’s got their own reasons for living the way they do, and most of them are pretty good, even if I don’t understand them._

“Zack, come check these out, they’re really good,” not-Noct said, waving him over.

“Can we go off on our own, or does the Royal Guard have to make sure we don’t steal too much of the free food?” Zack asked with a smirk.  “I think he wants to talk with the princess, so don’t worry about us running off.  For now.”

“You’re free to go.  For now,” Tifa said, grinning at the banter.  _It’s been a long time since anyone was brave enough to do that with me but Aerith, and she’s…never mind._ “We’ll come find you sometime before the lantern ceremony.”

Zack gave her a thumbs-up and jogged over to not-Noct, and Tifa sighed as she watched them hold hands.  _I wish…I wish I was brave enough to do that.  But…Aerith’s a princess, I can’t…I should head to the castle._

She stood there, lost in thought, until two children bumped into her with overfilled baskets of flowers, and Tifa helped them pick up the mess before leaving her spot.

“I’m being stupid, it’s a celebration today, I should be happier,” Tifa muttered to herself as she passed the festivalgoers, all of whom seemed perfectly cheery.  _Though…is it a celebration, really?  Sure, to these people…and Aerith, who never knew her brother anyway…but the king and queen, they never leave to join in.  They’re probably up there mourning…_

“Watch it, miss!” someone said, cowering away when Tifa turned around.  “Oh – sorry, Captain Lockhart.”

“It’s my fault,” Tifa said, frowning nonetheless.  _Am I really…feared, by people?  I don’t want to be feared…just respected…is this really who I’ve wanted to be my whole life?_

She passed the man and entered the grounds, taking notice for the first time of how much more somber the atmosphere was outside of the public part of the city.  _Even before…when there were more of us guards, it was always quiet in the castle, in the grounds.  I hope the search for the lost prince is called off soon…whether he’s found or not, we need our warriors back.  Aerith needs her parents back._

“Tifa, there you are!”

She turned around, managing a small smile when she saw Aerith, donned in the same plain pink dress she usually wore into town.  “Nothing fancier for your brother’s birthday?”

“Of course not, I can’t dance in any of the nicer gowns!” Aerith said, practically bouncing up and down.  _Wow, she’s excited._ “How’d it go this morning?”

Tifa shrugged.  “Zack is a pain in the ass,” she said, relieved that the princess didn’t call out her language.  “The other guy…he wouldn’t tell me his real name, but he seemed willing to talk to you, and…”  _What’s the honorable thing to do here?  It’s my responsibility to share what I know, but…I promised Zack I wouldn’t say._ “…And the situation with the crown is just a mess.  I don’t know who has it at this point.”

 “Hmm…I’ll just see if I can charm him into telling me!  But why didn’t you get his real name?” Aerith asked.

“He seemed uncomfortable about it, and you’re more…persuasive,” Tifa said, looking away.  _With the charming and everything…_

Aerith giggled, and to Tifa’s surprise, she ended the conversation right there, taking her hand and leading her back out into the city.  “Well, we’ll work it out this evening.  For now, do you think I could _persuade_ you to try some cupcakes?  I’m so happy we get to spend this time together!”

“Me…me too,” Tifa said, letting go for a moment to leave her bag of weapons behind the gate.  _It’s the day of dreams, and…damn it, I’m gonna let this one come true._

_\---------------------------------_

 

It had only been a few minutes, but Cloud was already overwhelmed by the sheer number of people at the festival.  There were so many – men and women, with all manner of skin color and clothing style, all celebrating the lost prince’s birthday.

“Hey, excuse me, mister!” a small voice said, and Cloud looked down to see two girls with baskets full of flowers.  “Can we put some flowers in your hair?”

“Please?” the other one asked.

Zack plopped down next to him.  “Ooh, do me!” he said.  “Come on, Spike, it’ll be fun!”

Cloud sat down too, watching intently as the girls wove their flowers into two circlets.  “…Flower crowns?”

“My mama thinks the lost prince would like it,” the first girl said, arranging one into his blond spikes and adjusting it until it felt secure.

The second girl sneezed halfway through hers and had to start over.  “Yeah, since he’s got our crystal’s life power, and flowers are…alive.”

_Life power…maybe Mother has one of the crystal’s powers, and I inherited the life part of it.  She and Sephiroth…the other parts, I guess.  I wish she had been more honest with me…maybe I’d go back if she was._

“Oh look, someone with a bare arm!” a boy shouted, coming over with a tray of paints and a cup of brushes.  “Can I?”

“Sure, go ahead,” Cloud said, turning so his arm was at a better angle.  “You’re painting…?”

“An original design!” the boy said, holding a brush between his teeth as he took a bowl of blue paint out of the tray.  “Watch this.”

Cloud couldn’t see it very well without risking the boy messing up, so he let Zack do the commentary, ooh-ing and aah-ing at all the right times.

“A curved line going towards the shoulder…excellent, really, you’re very good at this,” Zack said.  “Some shading with the white paint…ah, a cloud.  Good choice.”

“Yeah, for Prince Cloud,” the boy said, and Cloud stiffened.

“Prince…Cloud?  Did you say Prince Cloud?”  _That’s…Zack said my name was weird…but the prince’s name is also Cloud…did he know that the whole time?_

“Whoa, how far out are you from?” the boy asked, exchanging his paints for gold and green and picking out a new brush.

Zack nudged his side, and Cloud relaxed.  _I’ll just wait and ask him about it when these kids are done._ “He’s from pretty far,” Zack said.  “This is his first festival…”

“Oh, well have fun!” the boy said, finishing the outline of a crystal insignia over the cloud.  “Now let me just shade this in…”

“Have you ever thought about getting into the tattoo business?” Zack asked, and the boy nodded.

“Yeah, what do you think I’m running around and doing all this for?  Free advertising, man.”

“Nice,” Zack said, giving the kid a fist bump.  “It’d almost be better if you had that painted on your own arm, though…”

“Are you kidding?  I can’t paint on myself,” the kid said.

Cloud looked at his arm and at the paints, and cleared his throat.  “I might be able to,” he said.  “The design on your arm, I mean.”

“Hmm…can I trust you to not get paint on my tunic?” the kid asked.

“You can trust him with just about anything,” Zack said, confident smile on his face.  _That’s…a strong statement…_ “Go for it.”

Cloud was familiar with the type of paint, but the brushes were cruder than what his mother would bring home, and the surface of skin was a lot different to work with than parchment or brick.  He did his best, though, replicating the rounded curves of the cloud and shading the area around it to the best of his ability.

“You were right, man,” the kid said to Zack.  “This is amazing.”

“Um…thanks,” Cloud said.  “I have a lot of practice with this sort of thing.”

“This is kind of out of the blue, but I would totally be okay with it if you wanted to be business partners,” the kid said, and Cloud bit his lip.  _I’m getting all kinds of offers today.  I could be a Hewley brother, a royal guard, a tattoo artist…_

 _I know what I want, though._ “I’ll think about it,” Cloud said, with a reckless wink in Zack’s direction, who smiled back.  _Yeah…_

“I live on Dollet Street if you wanna take me up on it,” the kid said, packing his things.  “You can’t miss it!  The shop with all the paintings in front – I live above there.”

Cloud waved the kid goodbye and leaned back, startled when Zack wrapped an arm around his waist.  _I feel…floaty.  Like…a flock of birds is trying to get out of my chest, but they’re stuck because this is comfortable._

“Are you doing okay?  You look kind of overwhelmed,” Zack said, laughing when Cloud leaned further into him.

“…I think I am,” Cloud said.  “I’m not used to being around so many people…”

Zack stood up, pulling Cloud with him.  “I can imagine.  But how about we find somewhere for you to chill out that isn’t in the middle of the street?”

Cloud nodded, following Zack around the block and into a small alcove, a quiet haven compared to the bustle everywhere else.  “This is nice,” he said, leaning against the wall.

“I’m gonna go look for some food…don’t run off on me, okay?” Zack said.

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” Cloud said, smiling as he left.  _No…I don’t want to go home, and I don’t want to do anything that means I’ll have to stop seeing Zack.  I…how do I say it?_

He could see a small pavilion with tables from his vantage point, and he saw Tifa sitting up there with a brunette girl in a pink dress who he assumed must be Princess Aerith.  She was looking at Tifa with a strange and happy expression on her face, and when she reached for Tifa’s hand and leaned across the table to whisper in her ear, something fell into place for Cloud.

“I heard all sorts of people raving about these cupcakes, so I picked some up and – what’s that look for?” Zack asked, joining him in the alcove with a box full of cupcakes.

“I just realized something,” Cloud said plainly.

“…What, that the princess and Lockhart not-so-secretly like each other?” Zack said, pointing towards the pavilion.  “I mean, I guess it might not be obvious to people who aren’t _experts_ like me, but…”

“No, I see it too,” Cloud said.  “They look…really happy together.”

Zack handed him a cupcake and Cloud looked at him, his heart skipping a beat as he realized he had the same expression on his face as the princess.  _I think…we could be happy together, too.  Even if I’ve only known you a day, and even if saying I’m new at all this is the understatement of the century…I think I want to try._

“You’re…not eating your cupcake,” Zack said, the wondrous look in his eyes neutralizing a bit as he poked Cloud in the shoulder.  “Come on, I cut a lot of people in line to get those.”

Cloud bit into it, savoring the chocolate flavor and something else, something nutty that he’d never had before.  “What’shinid?” he asked through a mouthful of crumbs.

Zack laughed before biting into his own cupcake, eating it with considerably more grace than Cloud was.  “Hmm…chocolate and hazelnut, for sure,” he said.  “And something else, too.  I can’t make it out.  Maybe something cloud-themed?”

“Maybe…how come you didn’t tell me the prince’s name was Cloud?” he asked, taking another bite of his cupcake.

“I swear, I didn’t remember until right before you woke up,” Zack said.  “And I told you not to tell Lockhart your real name because…well, they’d question you about it.”

“It’s not me,” Cloud said, with less certainty than he would have twelve hours ago.  _It’s…it can’t be me.  I have a family, and I’m leaving them behind._

“I believe you,” Zack said.  “But Lockhart might not have, and…to be totally honest, I wanted you all to myself today,” he added with a smile.  “You make a pretty good date, you know that?”

Cloud found himself feeling floaty again, and he finished his cupcake in two more bites to avoid having to answer that, trying desperately to ignore the strange longing in his chest.

“You’ve, um, got some frosting on your lip,” Zack said, biting his own as he looked at the spot.  “May I?”

 _May you…what, exactly?_ Cloud nodded anyway, and immediately regretted it when Zack wiped his thumb across Cloud’s upper lip, gaze lingering there a moment too long.  _Gods, I can’t…it’s like my heart is going to burst, and I don’t know what’s inside._

“It’s…it’s gone now,” Zack said, forcing his eyes back up.  “So…what do you want to do now?”

 _…I can’t think clearly…_ “Um…what is there to do?” Cloud asked, struggling to lighten the atmosphere.  “I’m not sure if you knew this, but I’ve never been here before…”

Zack laughed again, clearly grateful for the lighthearted comeback.  “Well, there’s a lot of food…people making art in the streets…there’ll be dancing later, I bet that’s where the princess will wanna meet up.”

“Can we just walk around for a while?”  _I need to get used to this feeling…_

“Anything you want,” Zack said.  “It’s _your_ birthday, after all.”

Cloud took his hand again, the gesture becoming less and less intimidating as he did it more, and the feeling pleasant enough to calm his nerves, even as everything about Zack’s presence seemed to put his heart on overdrive.

The city was beautiful, an ancient mass of winding roads and architecture, the crystal insignia everywhere – on banners, on flags, on cobblestones, on people.  Cloud supposed the flowers were specially grown for the festival, and that the bustle was probably less universally cheerful on regular days, but he was feeling the festival cheer as much as anyone else.

And with Zack next to him, telling him bits and pieces of what he knew about the world they lived in, he felt like he could chase whatever dreams he wanted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...Well, there it is. God, the pacing for this chapter is so awkward - "fiddle music date montage" isn't something that translates really well into text. It'll only be painfully awkward for one more chapter, though, cause once I hit the lanterns everything is smooth sailing (pacing-wise, not plot-wise).
> 
> Coming up next: the royal siblings finally meet. And a few other things happen, too.


	10. A Change of Plans

To put it plainly, Zack was done for.

He didn’t even make a halfhearted attempt to resist, to keep himself neutral and detached, because his heart wasn’t into it.  No, his heart was into Cloud now, this man who could do something as simple as smile and set Zack’s every sense on edge, who knew so little and so much at the same time, who Zack had only known a day but who he trusted with his whole being.  _Tifa said I would be special to him…and gods, is he special to me.  It’s so soon, yet…_

And while Zack knew that the chances of him remaining a free man after the ceremony were slim, considering the whole mess with the crown, and that the loss of his freedom would technically be Cloud’s fault, he couldn’t bring himself to care.  And that’s how he knew he was done for.

“Hey, Zack,” Cloud said, squeezing his hand.  “D’you think the dancing is about to start?”

Zack looked at the square, much less crowded than it was a moment ago, and at the band, who looked like they were preparing for a new set.  “…Looks like it,” he agreed.  _I…I don’t think I can handle dancing with you, Spike…_

“And then the lanterns after that?”

_The lanterns…it won’t be as special if he’s in the crowd, watching them.  But how can I find something different?_ “Yeah,” Zack said.  “Then you’ll, uh, get what you came here for.”  _Why am I so awkward right now?_

“I…never mind,” Cloud said, letting go of his hand.  “Is that…do you think they’re coming over here to talk to us?”

_They_ turned out to be Tifa and the princess, the latter of whom looked incredibly…mischievous as she made her way over to them.  “Hello, boys!” she said, smile on her face.  _She…she is aware that we stole her brother’s crown, right?_

“Um…hi,” Cloud said, “Princess Aerith.”

“No need to be so nervous, I’m not any more special than anyone else,” Aerith said, hooking her arm through Cloud’s and causing him to look rather flustered.

“Uh…well…what?”  _Well, Aerith’s certainly going to get whatever it is she wants…_

“I’ll be your dance partner for a bit, okay?” she said, taking a few steps back towards the other side of the plaza.  “Zack, can you keep my dear friend Tifa entertained while we’re away?”

Tifa looked about as flustered and confused as Cloud, so Zack took control of the situation by hooking his arm through Tifa’s in a similar fashion.  “Yes, princess, I think I can keep her sufficiently occupied,” he said, enjoying how Tifa visibly stiffened.  _I wouldn’t be such a little shit if she didn’t get riled up so quickly._

The princess left with Cloud, and Tifa broke free of Zack’s grip, grumbling.  “Can you please stop preventing me from doing my job?”

“But it’s so amusing,” Zack protested, laughing when Tifa reached for a spear that wasn’t there.  “No weapons at the festival, remember?”

“You’re insufferable,” Tifa said, crossing her arms.

A few minutes passed without either of them saying anything, and Zack sighed, scratching the back of his head.  “Okay, other than just being annoying…whatever I did to personally piss you off, I’m sorry.  Can we start over?”

“Start over?”  Tifa made a big show out of cracking her knuckles before answering.  “I can’t believe…fine.  But only since I might be seeing a lot more of you in the future.”

“Great!  Let’s go grab something to eat,” Zack said, taking two steps towards the nearest cart.

“No!  I have to watch the princess, what if she gets hurt?”

_Oh my gods._ “Look, my friend won’t do anything unless Aerith – Princess Aerith, sorry – what I’m trying to say is, he’s not a violent person,” Zack said.

“That’s not consistent with your earlier description of him,” Tifa said.  “Knocking you out as soon as you got into the tower?  How quickly he dispatched my men yesterday?”

She had him backed into a corner, and Zack realized he’d have to divulge more information if he had any hope of earning her trust.  “…It’s more complicated than that,” he admitted.  “This isn’t just Cloud’s first time to the festival, it’s his first time leaving home…I think you can forgive him for having some problems trusting people.”

Tifa very slowly turned her head towards the princess, then back at him, expression unreadable.  “You said his name is _Cloud_?”

_…Shit._ “Um…well…yeah, it is,” Zack admitted.  “But it’s just a coincidence, I swear.”

“How can you know?” Tifa said, frowning.  “And if he’s the one who took the crown from you – how do you know he’s not just an impersonator or something?”

That struck Zack somewhere unexpected, and he fought off the sting of betrayal.  _No, she doesn’t know what’s going on, that’s…it has to be a lie._ “He has a family already,” Zack said.  “And considering they all have similar abilities…I think it would be kind of silly to assume they’re not his real family.”

“After the lantern show, we’re working this out,” Tifa said, stiffening her posture even more.  “Regardless of who he is…the king and queen deserve to know someone’s running around the kingdom with their son’s name.”

_Well…Gaia, I’m such a screw-up.  If I’d just kept my stupid mouth shut…_  “I guess I can’t argue with that,” Zack conceded.  “Now can we seriously get some food?  I’m really hungry.”

The nearest cart was vending milk and cream with some sweet topping Zack had never seen before, and they both took a cup, sitting at the nearest bench (Tifa would probably be less irritable if she could still watch the princess, he figured).  “Mmm, this is pretty good,” he said, draining half his cup in one gulp and immediately regretting it.  _That’s…very rich._

“Reminds me of when I was a little kid,” Tifa said, looking into her cup with a milk moustache on her upper lip.  “There used to be the sweetest milk…ah, I don’t remember enough to really pick it out.”

_Where was she as a kid that this sort of food was just around?_ “…I thought you grew up poor,” Zack said, raising an eyebrow.  “Or is that just a story?”

“I _did_ grow up poor,” Tifa said.  “The memory is just…older than any of the others.  Maybe I was less poor before…whatever happened.”

“Hmm,” Zack said, rubbing his stomach.  _That was…way too rich to drink that fast._ “So what’s your other oldest memory, Tifa?”

“Let’s see… well, I lived in an orphanage on the Midgar border.  I remember…there was a deal made, right when I got there.  I couldn’t have been older than four…”

“A deal?”

Tifa nodded.  “It’s very fuzzy…I needed medication for something, and I traded my last five years of room and board in exhange for the medicine.”

Zack scoffed.  “As a four-year-old?  That seems pretty out there.”

Tifa shrugged.  “It was right when Midgar fell…there were way too many kids in that orphanage, and not enough resources.  We were gonna end up starving if some people didn’t leave…so I did, when I was eleven.”

_And you ended up there right when Midgar fell…_  “What kind of medicine was it?” Zack asked, trying not to sound too invested.

“Hmm…something for burns, I think,” Tifa said.

_Something for burns…_   A thought came to Zack unbidden, and his jaw dropped.  “No way,” he said.

“…What?”

“I can’t believe it,” Zack said.  “This is gonna sound like the weirdest question ever, but do you happen to remember anything about flour sacks?”

Tifa looked at him like he’d grown a second head, but she thought about it anyway, taking another sip of her milk.  “Now that I think about it…yeah, I do,” she said.  “Flour sacks in a courtyard…sweet milk…then the orphanage.”

“…No way,” Zack repeated.

“Hold on, why are you even asking?” Tifa asked, skeptical.  “What’s flour sacks got to do with anything?”

“I can’t believe it.”

Tifa frowned.  “You just keep repeating the same two sentences over and over again.”

_…The annoyed look in her eyes, the milk moustache…I see it now!_ “You were the cook’s daughter!” Zack said.

“I was who’s what now?”

“You shot at flour sacks with me in the courtyard!” Zack said, too amazed to really consider the wisdom of his words.  “My father was going to send us to Guardia to study together before…!”  _Um…_

“Come again?” Tifa asked, setting down her cup.  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Cause you were too young,” Zack said.  “Those burns – I was in that fire, too.  Sixteen years ago.  Midgar Castle.  I got you out, and we ended up at separate orphanages.”

Tifa closed her eyes and took a deep breath.  “You’re saying…I was there, when the…monster came and burned everything up?  But…there’s this image in my head…it lines up…”

“Small world, huh?” Zack said, leaning back on the bench.  “Never would’ve thought I’d see that spunky kid again, and here you are!”

“If you were in the castle too, then who…who are you?” Tifa asked, and Zack’s eyes widened.  _Oh no._

“I’m…uh…no one important,” Zack said, looking away.  “Don’t think about it too much.”

Tifa snapped her fingers a few times and gasped.  “Wait…Aerith has this stack of portraits in her library of people who died in that fire…you look like…like…”

“You really don’t need to say it,” Zack said, grimacing.  “I’m serious, please don’t say it.”

“You look like a Fair!  You’re – you’re Zack Fair!”

_Whoop, there it is._ “…Hi,” Zack said, waving his hand.  “Guilty as charged.”

“You’re – you’re the last of their line, you’re – how come you didn’t tell anyone?” Tifa asked.  “You could’ve…I’m sure the king and queen would have…”

“It doesn’t matter,” Zack said.  “Things worked out the way they worked out, and…I wouldn’t have been that great as a Fair anyway.”  _No…it’s taken this long just to even try to listen to my mother’s words.  Probably best that no one knows, except now that she knows, everyone’s gonna know.  I’m screwed._

A long moment passed, and Tifa took their empty cups, tossing them in the nearest bin.  “…This whole thing is just a mess,” she said, adjusting her tunic.  “You, a man who should have grown up to be a royal advisor, steals the missing prince’s crown.  Then you come across some random guy in a tower who happens to have the same name, and _he_ steals the crown, and it looks more like you’re doing this for love than money…you’re making it really hard for me to arrest you.”

_More for love than money…I was never doing it for money in the first place, I was doing it for…revenge?_ “My would-be status shouldn’t have anything to do with it,” Zack said with a sigh, no longer caring what his words caused.  “I committed a crime, you…caught me, more or less, I guess I’m here of my own free will.  Do whatever you have to do when this is over.”

“You’re here for him,” Tifa said, nodding her head towards Cloud.  “And whether it started out that way or not…you’re here because you care about him, not because he one-upped you at treasure hunting.  You’re gonna try to deny that?”

Zack closed his eyes.  _I don’t…two days ago, I had such a clear purpose in life, and now…I don’t know why I’m doing anything.  I just know…I want to do right by Cloud, and…gods, I’m a mess.  Is this what it means to be a Fair?  To be a mess?_ “What about you?” he asked.  “Don’t think I haven’t seen how the princess has been acting around you…”

“I…um…don’t think I should say it,” Tifa said, biting her lip.

“Come on.  You know who my family was now, and you basically got me to admit that I’m head over heels for a guy I barely know, yet you’ve been friends with Aerith for _years_ but won’t say anything?” Zack asked, incredulous.  “Alright.  It’s not like…it’s not like I’m technically your oldest friend or anything.”

Tifa narrowed her eyes at him, and he smirked.  _Score.  Confession time._ “It’s…complicated,” she said.  “I…I don’t think about how I feel too much, cause…it’s not gonna go anywhere, you know?  But I do…I do like her.  A lot…”

“There it is, then,” Zack said, the beginnings of an idea forming in his brain.  “Well, tonight’s probably gonna have the most romantic atmosphere you could ask for…why don’t you say something?”

Tifa snorted.  “I can think of a million reasons why.  Here’s an actually good question…why don’t _you_ say something?”

_Well…for starters, I’m kind of his first friend ever.  And…if we get to Midgar and his brother doesn’t like me, I’m basically dead.  Even so…_   “I think I will,” Zack said, enjoying how off-guard he caught her.  “I just wish there was a more private place to say it than in the crowds…”

Tifa scrunched her face up and looked to the side, making a big show out of sighing before she smiled.  “I can hook you up with a rowboat,” she said.  “Paddle out to the lake, watch everything up close…”

 

\---------------------------------

 

Aerith led the dance as discreetly as she could, doing her best to put the man at ease.  It had taken her about four seconds to realize how out of his depth he was – and that if she wanted answers, she’d have to pull out all the stops to make him feel as secure as possible.  _It’s like trying to cuddle a feral cat…_

“You know, dancing isn’t really a requirement to join the Royal Guard,” Aerith said, giggling as the man rather awkwardly spun her around.  “Tifa can’t dance, as much as I’d like her to.  There’s no need to be so self-conscious.”

“You…want to dance with her?” the man asked, expression forcedly blank.  _He’s hiding something…what, exactly, I’m not sure._

“Yes, she’s my best friend and I like her,” Aerith said matter-of-factly, taking in the light of the setting sun.  _I’m running out of time…_ “What _is_ a requirement to get into the guard is revealing your name, though.”

He was silent for a moment, and then froze, and Aerith could feel his heartbeat through the hand on her shoulder.  “…It’s Cloud,” he said, “but I’m not your Cloud.”

_Well, that’s a very…definitive answer._ “Alright…Cloud,” she said, making eye contact.  _Those might just be the bluest eyes I’ve ever seen._ “It might be a bit complicated, with my parents’ worries and the crown being missing and whatnot, but I’d like to offer you a job.”

“As a…soldier?  Is that what the guard does?” Cloud asked.

“…If you want,” Aerith said, “though Tifa’s usually the one who always wants to be out there, doing the fighting.  You’d probably start out as…a bodyguard.”

“A…bodyguard.”

“Yep!  One of the others would train you in, and then…ha, my parents actually have most of the guard out looking for my brother right now, which is why we’re so shorthanded – when they find the real Cloud, you could be his personal guard!  I think that would be pretty funny, having two Clouds, how about you?” Aerith asked, pausing when she noticed Cloud wasn’t paying attention.

She turned around, following his gaze to an older woman under a purple cloak, worn grey with age and dirt.  _That’s…no, it can’t be Cetra style, that’s impossible._ “…Excuse me, can I help you?” she asked.

“No, I’m fine, nothing at all,” the woman said, voice rich despite her apparent age, the tone of it making Aerith’s hair stand on edge.  Cloud’s grip tightening on her shoulder didn’t help either – if he was as unsettled as she was, then…something was up.  “Just enjoying the festival.”

“Enjoy it, then,” Tifa said, suddenly by her side again.  _Thank gods._ “The princess has other matters to attend to; the ceremony starts soon.  If there’s nothing she can do for you, then let us be.”

“Yes, those duties must be very important,” the woman said, pulling her hood farther down her face.  “I imagine your parents must be in need of some comfort this time of year…and I have some comfort of my own to attend to,” she said, walking away.  _What on Gaia…?_

“That was…weird,” Aerith said, stepping away from Cloud.  His eyes had gone glassy, and the color had seemed to drain from his face – not good, not good at all.  “Cloud, are you okay?”

“She followed me here,” was all he said, and it was only another moment before Zack was there, a shoulder to lean on while he recovered.  _From what?  What does he mean, she followed him here?  Who is that woman, anyway?_

Zack gave him a hug, which Aerith thought was a strangely intimate gesture for the setting, but she supposed they’d been…close all day.  “Cloud, was that…?”

“My mother,” he said.  “I don’t know…I don’t know what she wants.”

“For you to go home, probably,” Zack said, “but you already decided, remember?”

“And I’m not changing my mind,” Cloud said, shrugging away.  “It’s just…”

The conversation left a thousand things unsaid, and Aerith felt like she was intruding on something private, which was something she wasn’t used to feeling.  “So do you think you want the job?” she finally asked, trying to steer the conversation back somewhere she understood.

“…Will I have to stop seeing Zack?”

Aerith laughed despite the mood, she couldn’t help herself, such a trivial question being the focus of his reservations.  _They’re really…they’re really something, aren’t they?  I wish I could…just a little longer…_   “Of course not!” she said.  “Um…provided he gives us the crown back.  Very soon.  Otherwise we might run into some problems.”

“Can do,” Zack said.  “Right?” he added, looking back at Cloud.

“Um…right,” he said.  “Otherwise…I think I was going to go visit Midgar for a bit?  And then we can talk again when I come back?”

_Midgar?  That came out of nowhere._ “Why are you visiting Midgar?” Aerith asked.  “I don’t mean to pry, I’m just…curious.”

Cloud looked immensely uncomfortable at the question, and Aerith decided to leave it be.  _Maybe one day, he’ll have the courage to tell me._

Tifa shifted in her boots, and Aerith resisted the urge to gr0an.  _There’s more, isn’t there?_ Can I tell her, Zack?”

_Wait…since when did they become friends?_ “…I get the feeling you’re going to anyway, so have at it,” Zack said.

“Aerith, this is Zack Fair,” Tifa said, and Aerith blinked a few times.

“Zack _Fair_?” she repeated.  “As in, youngest of the Fair line, thought to have perished in the razing of Midgar Castle sixteen years ago?”

“Yeah, that’s me, it’s a small world, don’t we all have places to be?” Zack said, grimacing.  “Seriously?”

_Sir Genesis is gravely ill, the crown disappeared yesterday, they use magic to somehow keep the guards at bay, and they turn out to be, of all people, Zack Fair and a guy who has the same name as my brother but insists he isn’t.  This is…way too complicated to sort out before the ceremony.  I want my Tifa time, dang it._ “Okay, we have places to be,” Aerith said, linking her arm through Tifa’s.

Tifa seemed fairly shocked at her decision, not budging from her position.  “Aerith, isn’t it kind of irresponsible not to—”

“If Cloud came all this way to see the lanterns, let’s let him see them!  There’s no rush in figuring out what’s going on, right?  We’ll just reconvene afterwards,” Aerith said, fully and painfully aware of how much this decision might come back to bite her.  _I don’t care.  Forcing matters could be a worse choice, for all I know, and I want at least one thing to go right today._

“…When afterwards?  I thought we were returning the crown and going to Midgar,” Cloud said, nudging Zack’s side.

“Before Midgar.  I’ll meet you at the castle gate after the ceremony, we’ll talk things over, get our crown back, and you’ll be on your way by morning,” Aerith said with a smile.  _And hopefully, someone will tell me why they’re going to Midgar…were they planning on bringing the crown there?  That can’t be it, if they’re still going without it…_ “Good plan?”

“I’m good with that,” Zack said, turning to go.  “Thank you.”

The meaningful look he gave Tifa didn’t go unnoticed, and Aerith found herself…irrationally jealous.  She wasn’t used to feeling jealous.  _If Tifa wants to be with Zack Fair…and…whatever, then that’s fine.  I can’t dictate who she spends her time with._

“Tifa, how come you warmed up to Zack so quickly?” Aerith asked once the boys had left, headed towards the docks.  _What’s at the docks that they’re going to see?_

“Nothing too important.  We just agreed to both do something tonight,” Tifa said, tone lighthearted.  The wording put Aerith off a bit, and she pursed her lips in concentration, trying to sort it out.  _They agreed to do something…separately.  But also the same thing.  Separately.  And at the docks…_

“Don’t worry, it’s nothing important…to solving our problems anyway,” Tifa said.  “You look cute when you’re concentrating, though…”

Aerith wasn’t used to being on the receiving end of those compliments, and she spluttered, actually blushing when Tifa was clearly amused.  _I’m just being put in all sorts of new situations today…I bet one more can’t be too much of a stretch._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm feeling so much anxiety right now - y'all know what's coming up next. And then what's coming up after that (okay, you actually don't, but _I_ do, and it's making me all nervous).
> 
> Give me a little more time to get the lantern chapter written - it's not that it'll take a long time to write, it's that 1) I have classes starting...like...now and need to sort my crap together, and 2) I think I'm gonna roll out an ASTG update first, anyway (it's been a month and the chapter is half written, it's time).


	11. Embracing New Dreams

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Voltron happened. And...wow. Um. Like, hoo boy, I don't wanna vague about that fandom here, but _watch out_ if you ship anything. At all. But especially if it's something other than Klance.
> 
> TL:DR: thanks for being chill and giving me and my silly crossover plots a chance. It means a lot, and I hope this chapter was worth the wait (:

The sun seemed to be setting slower than usual, even for summer, and Aerith blinked at the light through the window as she finished up the second lantern.  Replicating the special pattern her parents sent up had taken quite a bit of work and a lot of secrecy, but she’d done it, and now she just hoped Tifa would be impressed.

“Aerith, it’s quieting down out there,” Tifa said from the other side of the door.  “I think they’re ready to go.”

 _Sure, they’re ready to go, but…am I?  I’ve put so much thought into this…on the side of everything else I have to do…and I prioritized it over my brother’s crown.  I don’t think I’ll ever be totally ready…but I’ve made my choice._ “Just give me one more second,” she said, brushing a few stray hairs behind her ear.

Aerith cut the strings off both lanterns and held one in each hand, taking a deep breath.  _It’s time._ She left the room and took her place next to Tifa, ignoring the rapid beating of her heart.

Every year, this part of the evening always made Aerith feel small, like a tiny piece of the puzzle that was her lost brother’s birthday.  Late summer was always hard like that – sure, Aerith was the crown princess of Guardia and their parents’ only daughter, but she’d never be Cloud Strife.  And she could avoid comparing herself to him most of the year, most of this day, even…but the few moments before the ceremony were the only ones she couldn’t ignore.

Tifa didn’t ask any questions about the second lantern – in fact, she didn’t say anything at all.  The entire castle was silent, out of respect for the prince, though the diminished staff meant the silence was somewhat less powerful than in past years.  _It’s silent enough to hear a child’s whisper…silent enough to hear all my thoughts jittering.  Gaia, I’m so nervous._

It had been a while, to say the least, since Aerith had spoken with her parents.  And she understood their pain, their isolation, but she couldn’t help but feel an inkling of resentment.  Her shoes clicked on the marble floors, a sharp sound compared to the thud of Tifa’s boots.

Two of the guards who’d been knocked out yet stood watch outside the queen’s quarters, and they stiffened as Tifa approached.

“I’ll be back in a few minutes,” Aerith whispered.

“Wait, you’re not going to watch the ceremony with the king and queen?”

 _Cloud’s their son, not mine.  I can’t keep mourning someone I never met, and…my presence won’t make them any happier tonight._ “Not this time,” she said, handing Tifa the second lantern.  “Hold on to that for me?  Please?”

Tifa just nodded, taking her place by her fellow soldiers, and Aerith opened the doors, preparing herself for the hardest conversation of the year.

“Mother, Father…I have your lantern,” she said quietly, eyes falling on her parents’ solemn forms.  _They’ve always been sad on this night, but…it’s worse this year.  After spending so much of our resources looking for him…_

Gast stood up and walked towards the window, avoiding her gaze, and Aerith knew the tears had already started.  “Were there any new reports from the search parties?” he asked, voice even in its sorrow.

“No, Father,” Aerith said, struggling to maintain her good cheer.  “The last report came two weeks ago; you’ve heard it already.”

“…Are you sure that’s all?” he asked, looking up towards the stars.  “I could’ve sworn…after all this time…”

Claudia rose to her feet, her expression more empty than Aerith was used to seeing it.  _It’s not…I’ve done everything I can.  It wasn’t like Cloud was ever going to…just show up one day unannounced, or fall from the sky.  Wherever he is..._   “Honey, she’s sure,” Claudia said, rubbing her husband’s shoulder.

Neither of them said anything for a while, and Aerith fidgeted.  _Do I…?  No, I can’t tell them about not-our-Cloud now.  It’ll just hurt…_

“It’s been twenty-one years…” Claudia finally said, standing midway between her husband and her daughter.  “Cloud would be all grown up by now…”

Gast remained silent, and Claudia reached out to him, silent tears rolling down her face.  “Do you think he’d look more like a Strife or a Faremis?” she asked, closing her eyes.

“All we can do is hope we’ll find out one day,” Gast said, pulling his wife close.

“All I can see are his eyes,” Claudia said.  “They’d be the same now…bluer than even the sky…and bright, so bright.”

Something about their words tickled at something in Aerith’s mind, just out of reach.  She could feel the gears grinding, when she just needed them to _turn._

 _His eyes would be the same…everything else might be different, but his eyes…_ “The lantern, dear?” Gast asked, and Aerith handed it to him distractedly.

She stood there awkwardly, waiting for permission to go or at least an acknowledgment that she wasn’t sticking around, and Claudia turned around.  “You…you want to watch the ceremony with your friends this time, don’t you?”

Aerith nodded, fighting the urge to lunge forward and hug her mother.  _Does she…does she even know who my friends are anymore?  It doesn’t matter…I…I can’t be the emotional one today._   “I’m…”

“It’s alright, dear,” Gast said.  “We know…you’re mature enough to make your own decisions.  And the kingdom’s as well…”

She took that to mean she was free to go, and Aerith took her leave, knowing she couldn’t fix every broken relationship in one night.  Or in one year.  Or even in one lifetime.  _That’s what it’ll mean to be queen, though, right?  I’ll spend my whole life trying to fix things that were always meant to be broken, and it’ll never be enough._

Tifa was waiting for her, and Aerith let herself get pulled into a caring hug, wrapping her arms around Tifa in turn.  _It doesn’t matter if it’s enough.  Even if I never find Cloud…even if I can’t solve all the world’s problems…every life I make a difference in is worth it._

“It’s too much this year?” Tifa asked.

“…I don’t know how much longer we can go on like this,” Aerith admitted, blinking her eyes dry.  “Grief…it…changes people, Tifa, and…”

“And it changed them.  I know.”

 _If they…if we…if Cloud ever comes home, there are…a lot of old wounds to heal.  A lot of things we’ve never talked about, out of…denial, or sadness._ “They used to be so much stronger,” Aerith said.  “Bolder.  They were gonna be the royals to change the world, right?  Now…”

 _I guess I’m grieving, too.  For the loss of parents who could have done so much more…and Gaia, it’s changed me._ Aerith resented herself for bringing up such heavy topics on a night where she wanted to do anything but, but… _What would my life had been like without all this?  If Cloud had never left, if they had never placed all their dreams for him on my shoulders…?_

_I could’ve lived simpler, easier.  I could’ve just been the second child, the princess who planted flowers all over the kingdom._

Tifa took a deep breath.  “I’m…it’s not really my place to say this, but…”

 _…Maybe I’d still call them Mother and Father.  If everything had been different._ “What is it?”

“If the king and queen keep letting the past win, then…you can build your own family, with people who won’t push you aside in favor of someone who’s been gone for years…”  There was more love in her voice than Aerith had heard from her mother or father since the search started, and something warm welled up in her heart.

 _I never would’ve met you if Cloud had always been here.  So…to get to this point, we all had to lose something.  Human nature…we just have to pick back up and keep going.  Find people who can fill our hearts with joy, and hold them close._ “Thank you, Tifa.”

She stepped back, and it might’ve been the way the last rays of sunlight danced across Tifa’s eyes, or the anticipation she saw there, but Aerith knew she was ready.  “Come on, I found the best place for us to watch.”

The walk to Aerith’s secret balcony – okay, it wasn’t really a balcony, more of a flat part of the roof – was short, but time seemed to stretch as she laced Tifa’s fingers with hers, building up courage.  The stars were already out, and it was right as she pulled Tifa onto the platform that the first lantern was launched, floating to the stars.

“So this one was for us, huh?” Tifa said, holding up the second lantern, the one Aerith had made in stolen moments, every second spent preparing for this one.  “Um…Aerith…”

 _You’re so beautiful, even when you don’t know what to say._ “…Yes?”

Tifa let the lantern go, watching it float up to join the stars, another light to ward off the dark.  “I…I feel…no, let me start over.  I…wow, Zack made it seem like this sort of thing was way easier.  He’s probably having an easier time of it down there…”

 _What?_ “You don’t have to be nervous around me,” Aerith said, ignoring how the beating of her heart betrayed those words.  She turned her head to the side, composing herself.  _I want…I want you to be able to tell me anything.  Especially now…_

“…I’m sorry, I can’t help it,” Tifa said, voice light.  “It’s just…things are changing, aren’t they?  Out there, and…here, too.”

 _This change has been a long time coming._ “It’s not just you,” Aerith said, turning back to face her friend.  _Wow, I’m…just say it already!_ “…I really like you, Tifa.  You’re my best friend, and…I’d like to be more, if that’s what you want.  Do you…?”

“Yes!” Tifa blurted out, blush spreading across her cheeks.  “I…I don’t know how it would work, with you being…you know, the princess and all, and…”

“We can work everything out later,” Aerith said, taking Tifa’s other hand in hers with a wide smile.  “For now…can I kiss you?”

“Please,” Tifa breathed, and as they met halfway, something that had been stiff in Aerith’s heart for a long time relaxed.

The kiss was brief, barely more than a press of their lips together, but it was enough to make Aerith sigh, leaning against Tifa like she was the only thing keeping her feet on the ground.  She kissed her again, braver, longer, only to laugh when a stray lantern collided with the side of her face.

“Ah, maybe this _wasn’t_ actually the best place for this,” Aerith said, stepping back.  _I feel…a lot of things.  Just…a lot of things._

Tifa was silent, maybe a bit stunned from the kiss, and as Aerith looked into her eyes, shining bright with the light from the lanterns… _Bright eyes…there it is!_

“Oh…Oh!  _Oh!_ ” Aerith said, jaw dropping as she brushed her bangs back.  “Tifa!”

“What, what is it?” Tifa asked, looking concerned at her sudden… _revelation, that’s what this is._

 _All I can see are his eyes, Mother said.  They’d be the same now…bluer than even the sky…and bright, so bright.  How…I can’t believe I didn’t see it sooner, with the dance and the…his hair even does the same thing, Gaia, I’m so stupid!_   “We need to head down, now!” Aerith said, already halfway back into the castle.  “Trust me!”

“Wait!” Tifa said, close behind.  “I do – I do trust you, I just – what happened, what’s going on!”

“Cloud is Cloud!” Aerith said, turning around.  “I can’t believe I couldn’t see it before – it’s him, it’s really him!”

“…What?  Yes, we already know his name is…”  Tifa paused, drawing her eyebrows together.  “Wait, you mean he’s _Prince_ Cloud?!”

“Yes!  It’s all there, Tifa – he looks enough like my mother, and let’s be honest, it would make a lot of sense if healing magic is what he’s been hiding…but the eyes, Tifa, his eyes!  They’re bluer than the sky and just as bright, and Claudia – I mean Mother – she said – oh, I can’t believe it!”

Aerith took the stairs three at a time, not caring if she tripped and fell – anything to get her to the castle gates sooner.  “We have to convince him not to go to Midgar just yet!  He has to…there’s so much to do, and life’s too short to waste any more time!”

“Aerith, _wait_ ,” Tifa said, her tone serious enough to give her pause.  “Think about this for a second.  I…they’re out there right now, and…”

“And what?  Look, unless the fate of the world or something is hanging in the balance, confirming the truth is the most important thing!” Aerith said, finally reaching the main corridor.

 

\--------------------------------- 

 

Zack’s stomach flipped for about the fortieth time that day as the boat came into view, tied loosely to the end of the dock.  _That’s…gonna be a cozy fit, all right._ He looked over at Cloud, to gauge his level of comfort, and was met with surprise and wonderment.

“Is this…for us?” Cloud asked, pointing to the boat.

 _I need to tone it down…talking to you, stomach.  Stop flipping._ “You’ve been waiting your whole life for this,” Zack said with a smile.  “Figured you might as well get a great seat – don’t worry, the boat’s on Tifa.”

“Zack…thank you,” Cloud said, walking to the end of the dock and stopping.  “I…uh…how do people get into boats?”

He bit his lip to keep from snickering, taking the few strides necessary to reach Cloud.  “Take my hand,” he said, carefully stepping into the boat.  “I won’t let you fall.  I promise.”

Cloud took it without hesitation and stepped into the boat a little too fast, stumbling into Zack, who had to try very hard to not pull Cloud into a hug.  “I – sorry,” he said, trying to step back and stumbling again.  “Ah, I’ll—”

“You’re fine, it’s alright,” Zack said, taking a deep breath, and then the seat at the back of the boat.  _Distance…is…good, right now._ “Can’t expect you to have sea legs yet, when you’ve barely even got…well, land legs.”

Cloud took his seat on the opposite side, still close enough that their knees were touching, and it took Zack a few moments to remember he needed to actually row the boat.  _Can’t just sit here and stare at him all night…as much as I want to._

The oars felt cool in his hands, and Zack got the boat moving, taking in the sight of the castle as they moved away from it.  It was beautiful, now that he thought about it – never had a chance to really appreciate it before, with the thievery and the chasing.  “Turn around, Spike.”

The look on Cloud’s face as he took in the scenery was something Zack knew he’d never forget, and he felt the nagging in his chest again, the one telling him to move in, to _do something_ about this…feeling between them.  _Wow, I’ve…a lot’s changed in the past two days.  I just want…I don’t know anymore, but I know I want to figure it out with you, Cloud.  And it’d be a dream come true if you felt the same way…_

Zack kept rowing until they reached the middle of the lake, and turned the boat sideways, so Cloud had an easier view of the action.  “Nice front-row seats, huh?”

“Yeah,” Cloud breathed, turning to face him.  “Zack…this…means so much to me…”

“I know,” Zack said, demonstrating what he thought was pretty admirable restraint by not begging to kiss him right then and there.  _Good gods, I’ve fallen hard._ “Are you ready?”

“Yes,” Cloud said, pursing his lips.  “No.  I…don’t know.  There’s a difference between how things work out in your dreams and how they work out in reality, you know?  And…if this is still the dream…I don’t ever want to wake up.”

 _Same._ “You know…last night, you said something about finding new dreams,” Zack said.  “That’s the best part about life, I think – whether you live your dreams or let them go, you can always find another one.”  _And I know what mine is._

“…You’re right,” Cloud said, looking down.  “Being a royal guard sounds nice, but…I’d rather stay with you.  If I had to choose.”

“Whoa…um…”  Zack blinked the stars out of his eyes and reached under his seat, pulling out the mass of fabric and wire he’d so hastily made.  “I have something for you,” he said, holding it up.

“…Did you make this?” Cloud asked, turning it around in his hands.  “It’s a little different from the ones I saw on the way here…”

“You see the design?” Zack asked, tracing it out with his finger.  “Instead of just the crystal…there’s a few clouds on here, too.”

It was cheesy and over-the-top and not the most original gift in the world, but Cloud thanked him anyway, his expression showing the appreciation of a man who really wasn’t used to people doing nice things for him.  “Zack – they’re starting!”

Sure enough, the first lantern was released from the castle’s largest balcony, ambling toward the stars and marking the start of a new chapter in both of their lives.  Zack smiled to himself when he saw a second one go up from somewhere on the roof, carving a similar path.  _That’ll be the girls…I hope Tifa works up the courage to say something._

_I hope I work up the courage to do something._

The lanterns from town rolled towards them, moving across the water and up to the sky, but they didn’t hold Zack’s interest like Cloud did, his amazement and wonder showing the path Zack wanted to take.  _It’s like…I’ve been living in a blur for years, and…that revenge plan was never going to work out.  A part of me always knew that.  But now…here, with Cloud…is where I’m supposed to be._

Zack centered himself.  “I—”

“I have something for you, too,” Cloud said, pausing when he realized he’d interrupted.  “Ah…you go first.”

 _I think I’m in love with you._ “…No, you first,” Zack said, leaning back.

“…Okay, promise me you won’t freak out,” Cloud said, and the familiar phrase made Zack smile.

“More cool magic?”

Cloud nodded.  “Something like that.”

Zack was entranced by Cloud’s hands, and the way they moved as he brought something into existence in a mist of green sparkles.  “I would’ve actually gotten you something, well, _new_ …but…I don’t have any money.  So I figured at least I could take care of this drama with the crown.”

“You know, usually, people _receive_ gifts on their birthday, not give them,” Zack said, and his response seemed to relax Cloud.  _…What was he expecting me to say?_ “Don’t get me wrong – if you can really fix things in Midgar, I’d rather put this whole mess behind me.  But…”

“…But?”

 _…What am I supposed to say now?  That I wouldn’t have minded another two days alone with him?  That I don’t care what happens, as long as he’s there?  That I’ve never been so in love so quickly?  Think, Zack._ “Ha, it’s funny…I never thought I’d be the sentimental type,” Zack said, heart skipping a beat when Cloud took his hand.  “But you…you kind of changed my whole life around, you know that?”  _In two days_.

“Not as much as you’ve changed mine,” Cloud said, brushing his thumb over Zack’s knuckles.  “I might’ve spent my whole life up there, without you, and…I don’t even want to think about it now.”  _Does he mean that like…he’d still be there if it weren’t for me, or that he’d miss me if I wasn’t there?_

“Cloud, I…”  _There’s still something bugging me about all this…_ “Hold on.  There are a lot of good people in the world who aren’t me…you don’t have to stick around if you don’t want to.”

“But I want to,” Cloud said, looking up.  “I want to be with _you_ , Zack.”

He couldn’t have asked for a better opening.  Zack leaned in, slowly but surely, and brought his hand up to cup Cloud’s jaw, smiling when he returned the favor.  _I…wow, this is really happening, isn’t it?  I’m gonna…I’m actually gonna kiss him…_

Cloud closed his eyes, and it made Zack wonder, since Cloud couldn’t have had any experience with this, if kissing was something people just _knew,_ like breathing or sleeping, and the thought was honestly a little distracting.  “…Are you sure?” Zack asked, as close to Cloud’s lips as he could manage while still holding back.

“ _Yes_ ,” Cloud said, his breath already mingling with Zack’s.  “I—wait.”  Cloud ducked his head around, looking somewhere past Zack, leaving him more than a little confused.  “Hold on…we’ve got company.”

 _Who the hell…?_ Zack turned around and frowned, catching the outlines of none other than Angeal and Kunsel on the shore.  _Really!?  They choose NOW to show up?!  I’m – Kunsel’s gonna rue this day the next time he decides to stop a job to pick up ladies!_

“I didn’t ruin the moment…did I?” Cloud asked, taking the Hewleys in with wary eyes.

“No, they did – Angeal and Kunsel, I mean.  That’s them.  And I swear, I’m gonna kiss you _so many times_ once we get a moment alone,” Zack promised, picking up the oars.

Cloud huffed, and boy oh boy, did Zack relate to that lack of satisfaction.  “What if I want to kiss you _before_ we get a moment alone?”

“Spike, please,” Zack said with a laugh, watching the mischief in his eyes.  _I definitely wouldn’t complain, but…they might come out here and drag us to shore if we don’t go over there now._ “That moment alone better come real soon, though, or I”ll…I don’t know, do something drastic.”

“Agreed,” Cloud said, securing the satchel over his shoulder.  _Yeah, if we head out to Midgar tonight…we’ll have to stop and rest somewhere near the border.  That’ll be a good time._

Cloud continued to look towards the shore with suspicion in his eyes, and Zack rowed, making a list of very well-articulated complaints about Angeal’s timing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "GOSH DARN WHY DIDN'T YOU JUST KISS HIM ZACK YOU DISAPPOINT ME" -me, writing this
> 
> Remember early in the story, when I mentioned the plot diverging from the movie at some point? Yeah, this is that point. Things are about to get really messy. ~~I've also reached the point in both my main fics where I have to write Genesis, so give me some time to work on him~~


End file.
